Pakistan not to contest Gilani contempt verdict

The Pakistan government has decided it will not appeal against the Supreme Court's verdict holding Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani guilty of contempt of court, Geo News reported Saturday.

A seven-member bench of the apex court April 26 convicted Gilani of  contempt of court charge for refusing to comply with the court's order to write a letter to the Swiss authorities asking them to reopen corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
Sources told Geo News that Gilani and his close legal and political advisers Friday discussed at length the matter of challenging the court's decision and later decided not to file an appeal.

The court found Gilani guilty of contempt, but sentenced him only "until the rising of the court", or till the time the judges left the court chamber. That was only for about 30 seconds after the verdict was handed down.

National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza has said there was no question of Gilani's disqualification as a parliament member.