Former Pakistani law minister Babar Awan,a close confidant of President Asif Ali Zardari,would be formally indicted for contempt of court on March 20,the Supreme Court has said. Awan,who was recently appointed vice-president of the ruling Pakistan People's Party,was issued a notice last year to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for remarks he made about the judiciary during a news conference on December 1. He had said by ordering the Memogate probe,the apex court had denied the right of a bipartisan and bicameral parliamentary committee on national security to hold an inquiry into the scandal. The two-member bench,comprising of Justice Ejaz Afzal and Justice Athar Saeed,was hearing the contempt of court case against Awan yesterday. They brought the court's orders in a sealed envelope and read it out,a media report said. Awan's counsel,Barrister Ali Zafar,prayed to the court during the hearing that his client did not intend to ridicule the judiciary during his press conference on December 1. He said Awan had spoken in a political backdrop.
