The arrival of Pakistan's prime minister at the Supreme Court on contempt charges signals the start of a showdown between the court and the nation's civilian leadership.<br/> <br />Yusuf Raza Gilani's pleaded not guilty to the charge.<br/> <br />It comes from his refusal to re-open corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, the head of Gilani's political party.<br/> <br />The civilian-judicial confrontation centres on the thousands of old corruption cases thrown out in 2007 under a new amnesty law passed under President Pervez Musharraf.<br/> <br />Zardari was the main beneficiary but the law was overturned by the court two years later.<br/> <br />Gilani and his advisors have refused to re-open the cases despite a court order to do so.<br/> <br />If convicted Gilani could be forced to step down and faces up to six months in jail.<br/> <br />The Supreme Court's action is being widely hailed by analysts and media in Pakistan where corruption tops the list of opinion polls as the nation's biggest problem.<br/> <br />Paul Chapman, Reuters
