President Asif Ali Zardari
6 October 2012. There seems to be no end to the ongoing legal battle between Pakistan’s Supreme Court and the government on corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. Last month, a breakthrough on the longstanding issue was seemingly achieved when the ruling Peoples Party agreed to write a letter to Swiss authorities to reopen money laundering cases against Zardari. However, the issue now appears to have taken a new twist as the top judges and the government is at odds with each other over the content of the letter. The latest controversy stems from the issue of constitutional immunity from persecution being claimed by the government for President Zardari. In June, former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was disqualified from holding office when he refused to reopen corruption cases against Zardari. The Supreme Court has twice rejected the draft letter to be sent to the Swiss authorities for reviving corruption cases against the President and has now given the government a last chance to implement its verdict until October 10th or risk the resumption of contempt proceedings against the Prime Minister.
