Defusing tension, Pakistani premier agrees to top court’s demand in presidential graft case
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s prime minister has agreed to a longstanding Supreme Court demand to reopen a corruption case against the country’s president.
The decision could defuse tensions over the case that have roiled Pakistan’s political system for months and led to the ouster of the last premier.
The dispute centres on an old graft case in Switzerland against Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. The case was suspended several years ago after the Pakistani government issued an ordinance giving Zardari and other politicians immunity from prosecution in old corruption cases.
The Supreme Court later declared the ordinance unconstitutional and demanded the government write to Swiss authorities authorizing them to reopen the case.
Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf told the court Tuesday he has instructed the law minister to write the letter.
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