Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was on Monday indicted by the Pakistan Supreme Court on contempt charges for refusing to revive graft cases against Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, a move that may force the beleaguered leader to quit.
Gilani, 59, the first Pakistani
Prime Minister to be arraigned for contempt by the apex court, pleaded not guilty in the packed court room.
The court adjourned the hearing till February 27.
At the commencement of the hearing Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, who headed the seven-judge bench, read out the charge sheet and asked him whether he had gone through the charges against him and understood them.
To this, Gilani responded by saying, "Yes, I have read the charge sheet and have understood them."
The Prime Minister personally drove his white SUV from his official residence located at a short distance from the court and was assisted by a battery of lawyers.
The apex court last week rejected Gilani's appeal against the summons issued to him in the contempt case.
The premier has said that he would automatically be disqualified as a parliamentarian if he is convicted by the court.
The motorcade stopped on the road outside the court on a gloomy morning as heavy rains poured down.