The Supreme Court gave a lifeline of three weeks to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in the show-cause notice for contempt of court after the premier assured the bench that steps would be taken to break the deadlock over the court’s judgment directing the government to write the letter to the Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

In an almost 60 minutes of hearing, Prime Minister Ashraf  assured the court that he was serious in resolving the issue arising after the Supreme Court’s judgment and sought for six weeks time.

The court appreciated the prime minister’s appearance and said he was appearing as the premier and not as an accused as no charges had been framed against him.

The hearing of the case was subsequently adjourned until Sep 18. - Photos by Agencies