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    January 15, 2012

Pakistani Government Faces Day of Legal Challenges

   VOA News
   Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari waves in London in this 2008 (file
   photo).
   Photo: AP
   Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari (file photo).

   The Pakistani government is due to appear before the Supreme Court
   Monday in a long-running Swiss corruption case involving President Asif
   Ali Zardari and before a Supreme Court commission in a scandal that has
   become known as "Memogate."
   The commission is investigating the origins of an unsigned memo last
   May in which Pakistan's civilian government asked Washington for help
   against a feared military coup in Pakistan. The memo was delivered to
   the U.S. military shortly after an American raid killed al-Qaida leader
   Osama bin Laden in his hideout in northern Pakistan.

         VOA's Ira Mellman spoke with Ahsan Butt, a Research Fellow at the
      Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He says the wild
     card in the current situation is the Supreme Court. If they decide to
             push forward, he says it could result in resignation or early
                                                                elections.

   The government rejects the memo as a non-issue, but army chief General
   Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has stated before the Supreme Court that the
   document is a reality. He dismissed speculation about a possible
   military takeover as misleading and reiterated 'continued support' for
   the democratic process in Pakistan.
   Prime Minister Gilani has criticized General Kayani and Inter-Services
   Intelligence head Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, for cooperating
   with a Supreme Court probe into the affair, and has said the standoff
   is nothing less than a choice between "democracy and dictatorship."
   Following Gilani's comments, the army issued a warning of "possible
   grievous consequences" ahead.
   The Supreme Court is expected to decide how to proceed on graft charges
   against President Zardari and other leading politicians, who claim to
   have immunity from prosecution in the case.
   The court threatened to disqualify the prime minister from office if he
   didn't initiate corruption proceedings against Mr. Zardari.
   The five-judge panel accused Gilani of being dishonest in not obeying a
   2009 Supreme Court ruling that struck down an amnesty for some 8,000
   senior politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen accused of corruption,
   murder and terrorism.
   President Zardari was among those protected by the 2007 amnesty known
   as the National Reconciliation Ordinance. He is accused of
   money-laundering in Switzerland.
   The Supreme Court has since ordered all corruption cases to be
   reopened, including the case against President Zardari. The government
   has so far stalled on the request, saying Mr. Zardari has immunity from
   prosecution while in office.