Ahsan confirms Gilani will appear before Pak SC on Feb 13 to face indictment over contempt charges

Islamabad -  Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s counsel Atizaz Ahsan has said that his client would appear before the Supreme Court on February 13 to face indictment for the government’s two-year refusal to ask Swiss authorities to re-open graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

If convicted of contempt of court, Gilani faces up to six months in jail and being disqualified from office, The Dawn reports.

“The appeal is dismissed,” Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry told the court, upholding the February 2 summons for Gilani to appear on Monday.

Chaudhry said that “the court can go to any extent to implement its verdict”.

Ahsan concluded his arguments today after an extended hearing in the SC before an eight-member bench headed by Chaudhry. Other members of the larger bench included Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Tariq Parvez, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and Justice Amir Hani Muslim.

In the ICA moved under Section 19 (1) (iii) of the Contempt of Court Ordinance 2003 in criminal original number 06/2012, the counsel pleaded to the Court to recall the order of its seven-member bench and suspend proceedings for framing of charges on February 13 for the larger interest of justice.