Raja Pervez Ashraf faces walk of shame: Pak daily

Islamabad: Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf will have to undertake a “walk of shame” 27 August  to the Supreme Court where he may be charged with contempt of court unless a letter to reopen corruption cases is written to the Swiss authorities, said a leading daily. “Another prime minister, another walk of shame,” said an editorial in the Dawn that referred to Ashraf’s predecessor Yousaf Raza Gilani who had to step down over the issue. “On Aug 27, Ashraf will have to make the short walk from the gates of the Supreme Court to inside a courtroom where he will likely be charged with contempt of court unless his government writes the so-called Swiss letter,” it said. “And therein lies the rub: what the court would regard as a walk of shame - a second prime minister hauled before it for explicitly rejecting an explicit court order — the PPP (Pakistan Peoples Party) will regard as a walk of defiance…,” the daily added. [caption id=“attachment_411801” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Raja Pervez Ashraf.[/caption] Commenting on how the issue will pan out this time, the editorial said: “…with the president himself still not directly in danger of being dislodged from office, it seemed more than likely the government would accept whatever fate the SC has in store for its latest prime minister.” It said that perhaps all that the ruling PPP is trying to do is buy time so that the fast-winding-down election clock comes into play and the party can pull the trigger on an on-schedule election while still hanging on to its second prime minister from the same parliament. “Failing that, it will just as likely have a third prime minister elected and limp on to its ultimate goal of an election after parliament completes its five-year term,” the editorial said. IANS