ISLAMABAD — Problems for Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf are far from over. The country's top court Wednesday threatened Ashraf's government with contempt proceedings, after rejecting a draft letter to Swiss prosecutors that ministers hoped would end a legal wrangle over graft cases against the president. The government finally agreed to write to the Swiss authorities last week about multimillion dollar corruption allegations against President Asif Ali Zardari after nearly three years of resisting court orders to do so. But on Wednesday the Supreme Court said the draft letter prepared by Law Minister Farooq Naek was unsatisfactory and gave him until Oct. 5 to make changes. Judge Asif Saeed Khosa warned if the court's objections were not answered by Oct.5, it may launch contempt proceedings. No details of the content of the letter or the court's objections have been revealed. Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was thrown out of office in June after being convicted of contempt for refusing to write to the Swiss. Naek asked the judges to conduct the hearing in their chambers as he wished to raise certain “sensitive issues” that could not be discussed in an open courtroom. The judges initially refused, but later agreed to hear Naek in their chambers after conferring among themselves. The law minister was called to the chambers for consultations behind closed doors. The judges said the court was giving the government a final opportunity to draft the letter. — Agencies
