Pakistan government - judiciary tussle ends

The Supreme Court of Pakistan yesterday ended a three-year stand off with the nation's political leadership by approving a government-issued letter that asked authorities in Switzerland to reopen a corruption case there, against president Asif Ali Zardari.

The government had till now stonewalled the request citing the constitutional immunity enjoyed by the president  The refusal resulted in the ouster of the previous prime minister and jeopardised the continuance of the current one.

The allegations stem from a case dating to the 1990s, when Zardari and his late wife, former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, faced accusations of laundering about $12 million in kickbacks through Swiss bank accounts.

Prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was dismissed by the Supreme Court after being held in contempt for refusal to send the "Swiss letter" (See: Pakistan Supreme Court disqualifies Prime Minister Gilani)  His replacement prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf was this summer served a contempt notice by the court.

Even with the two arms of the country locked in a power struggle, which threatened to threatened to topple an already fragile government, US officials were attempting to restore Washington's counter-terrorism alliance with Pakistan, which was a front line state in player in efforts to end the war in Afghanistan.

Last month Ashraf said he was willing to accede to the courts' request  and that his government was willing to write the letter (See: Pak PM to open graft cases against President Zardari). However, according to experts Zardari is unlikely to face any charges given that the 15-year statute of limitations had expired.