Pakistan’s government has said it will not resign, following a court ruling which
overturned an amnesty for politicians facing corruption charges.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the government had no intention of bowing to
opposition demands to stand down.
Senior figures including interior and defence ministers are among those affected by
the Supreme Court ruling.
President Asif Ali Zardari has been holding crisis talks with party leaders to
discuss the situation.
The controversial law granting senior politicians amnesty was brought in by former
President Pervez Musharraf.
The court’s move on Wednesday opens the way to possible prosecution for Mr Zardari’s
political allies, although he is still protected by presidential immunity.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik is one of those who had enjoyed immunity against
prosecution for the last couple of years.
Mr Malik is one of around 250 officials whose corruption and criminal cases have
been re-opened.
He has now received a summons to appear before an anti-corruption court, since that
amnesty was overturned.
But in an interview with the BBC’s Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad, he said he was not
worried by the summons.
“I promise you the day I feel even a guilt of 0.001 per cent I will be the first one
to resign. Because I know I will not have done anything wrong, hence no
resignations,” he said.
Mr Malik said that went for the president and the whole government as well.
He said they would all serve out their full terms in office before letting the
Pakistani people decide on their futures in an election.
He also rejected concerns that political in-fighting will have an impact on the
government’s ability to tackle militancy here.
Our correspondent says that while the government officials affected, including
President Zardari himself, are legally able to remain in power, the question over
whether they should morally stay there with the cloud of corruption hanging over
them is not going away.