ISLAMABAD: A petition was filed Tuesday in the Lahore registry of the Supreme Court against a contempt notice issued to Pakistani Prime Minster Yousuf Raza Gilani. Lawyer Zafarullah in his petition argued that under Article 248-1 of the Constitution, the prime minister enjoyed the same immunity as the president, The Nation reported. He said writing to the Swiss authorities was not the job of the prime minister.
The apex court had ordered the government to write to the Swiss authorities as part of efforts to reopen cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. The purpose was to obtain information regarding alleged black money he stashed in Swiss banks. Zardari had been granted amnesty under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), which was issued in 2007 by then president Pervez Musharraf to facilitate the return of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband Zardari. The NRO was struck down as void by the Supreme Court in 2009. The court issued a contempt notice to Gilani for not implementing its directive to act against Zardari. It ordered him to appear before it Jan 19 that he accepted.