Swiss letter case: Pak PM should avoid court appearance in, says Gilani

Former Pakistan premier Yousuf Raza Gilani is of the view that this time the Pakistan Peoples Party should change the strategy, and not let Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf appear before the court.

According to sources, Gilani begged to differ with President Asif Ali Zardari, who thinks Ashraf should appear before the court out of respect, just like Gilani did.

"This time Prime Minister should not produce himself before the court, party leadership should give second thoughts to it, otherwise they would have another Gilani," The News quoted Gilani, as saying.

Many senior ministers too put their weight behind Gilani's suggestion of not letting Ashraf meet a fate same as Gilani's.

However, an adamant Zardari said he was well aware of the possible outcome, but the prime minister's not appearing before the court would leave a bad impression. He added that the ultimate beneficiary of this whole ordeal would be the government.