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.
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.
On his arrival in the court, Gilani waved to the crowd outside as scores of heavily armed security personnel stood guard.
Authorities used a helicopter to mount surveillance as part of the special security measures put in place for Gilani's second appearance in court for the contempt case.
"I am going to argue that the prime minister is not guilty... The court will tell us how it wants to proceed. Today the charges will be framed and after that the accused will be asked for his reaction and whether he accepts the charges," Ahsan told the media as he left his residence earlier on Monday morning.
The apex court has been pressuring the government to reopen cases of alleged money laundering against Zardari in Switzerland since December 2009, when it struck down a graft amnesty issued by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf that benefited the president and over 8,000 others.
The PPP has been reluctant to act because top leaders believe any action on the cases in Switzerland could give the Supreme Court an opportunity to interpret the constitutional provision related to presidential immunity.
The court had said that USD 60 million that were allegedly laundered will come back to Pakistan only if the letter is written to Swiss authorities.
Legal experts have said Gilani could be imprisoned for six months if he is convicted and face possible disqualification. (agency)
Yousuf Raza Gilani
English IPA: jusæf ɾæzə ɡillɑnɪ̈ (Saraiki, Urdu: یوسف رضا گیلانی; June 9, 1952) is the 16th and current Prime minister of Pakistanand the vice-chairman of the democratic socialist party, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Gillani was nominated for the office of prime minister and became prime minister when his party formed the coalition government with Pakistan Muslim League, Awami National Party, Assembly of Islamic Clergyand Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), after his party secured a considerable victory on 2008 parliamentary elections. He is the first prime minister from the Saraiki-speaking belt,[2] and also the longest serving prime minister with a period span of 45 months, chairing more then 100 cabinet and parliamentary sessions; the most any successive democratic government in the history of the country.[3]
He first successfully contested 1988 parliamentary elections and has been a senior member of parliament for the Multan-IV constituency since 1988, heading the Ministry of Tourism under the government of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. After his party wining the plurality in 1990 parliamentary elections, Gillani was nominated by Benazir Bhutto to become the 15th Speaker of the National Assembly, serving until February 16, 1997. On February 11, 2001, Gillani was imprisoned by military court instituted under by then-CMLA and President Pervez Musharraf on the accusations and charges on corruption in infamous Adiala Jail, and released on October 7, 2006.
Gillani's Pakistan Peoples Party won a considerable victory in the 2008 parliamentary elections, and with the consent of coalition government, Gillani was nominated for the office of Prime minister, taking the oath from President Pervez Musharraf on March 25, 2008. In a first inaugural session, Gillani announced the formation of the Truth and reconciliation commission, reducing the federal budget deficits, reconstruction of the troubled tribal belt,education, land, and agriculture reforms, and lifting the bans on elected labor and students' unions, followed by new energy and nuclear policy to reduce the level of the loadshedding in the country.[4][5] In 2009, Gillani was ranked as the 38th most powerful person in the world by Forbes.[6]
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