ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Supreme Court adjourned a hearing Wednesday that has pitted the judiciary against the government over graft charges centring on President Asif Ali Zardari that could test his authority. The top court has been locked in a standoff with the administration since last December, when its judges ruled to scrap an amnesty that had allowed Zardari and 8,000 other people to escape possible corruption charges. The court says that with no amnesty now in place, the government must proceed with all corruption cases, including a multi-million-dollar money laundering case against Zardari in Switzerland that remains on hold. But the government has so far stalled on the court's request to send a letter to Swiss authorities to reopen the case, and to report progress on all other corruption cases. It further delayed its progress report Wednesday, when the Supreme Court allowed government lawyers to appoint new counsel and said they could have until the week beginning November 1 to prepare for a fresh hearing. “Both parties mutually agreed for postponement of the hearing until the week commencing from November 1, 2010,” said Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry in a court order. The Supreme Court will also then rule on a petition filed by Zardari's administration to overturn the decision to scrap the amnesty. Political analyst Hasan Askari said that if the scrapping of the amnesty is confirmed by the court, the government's lawyers are likely to plead presidential immunity to prevent Zardari's case in Switzerland being reopened. A Swiss prosecutor has said that would be “impossible” to proceed with the prosecution while Zardari is head of state. – Agence France
