Gilani speaks highly of party

Pakistan's prime minister, facing a dismissal threat from the Supreme Court if he won't push corruption cases against the president, praised his boss and party. Though not directly criticizing the Supreme Court, Yousuf Raza Gilani, speaking to a group of lawmakers in Islamabad, said the Pakistan People's Party or PPP, which heads the ruling coalition, has a tradition of neither submitting to coercion nor giving in to dictatorships, Dawn newspaper reported Wednesday. The Supreme Court Tuesday raised the pressure on Gilani's civilian government insisting he should reopen corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, who came to power after his wife and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in December 2008. The Zardari government is already under pressure over the so-called memo scandal that allegedly sought U.S. help to prevent a military coup in Pakistan. The government has denied any involvement in it but the scandal rages. In his comments, Gilani was quoted as saying his party has the right to be in government since it won elections. "The PPP workers are loyal to their ideology and I appeal to intellectuals to regard PPP and its leaders as an asset and protect them," Dawn quoted him as saying. The Los Angles Times quoted experts as saying Zardari could be forced out if it's proved he engineered or authorized the memo. The powerful military is already irate over the memo. The Supreme Court warning to Gilani relates to a 2-year-old order asking the government to reopen money-laundering charges against Zardari. The government had dropped the case after Zardari and the late Benazir Bhutto appealed a court ruling. But the Gilani government has not yet reopened the case. The high court also has set up a judicial panel to investigate the memo allegations. The New York Times reported the Supreme Court said the government was guilty of "willful disobedience" and that Gilani was "dishonest" in failing to carry out the earlier court orders. Among options announced by the judges, there could be contempt of court charges, dismissal of the prime minister, and action taken against Zardari, the report said. The government has until Monday to explain its position.