Gilani vows to protect constitution

London, May 13 (IANS) Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said "come what may" he will protect the constitution, a report says.

"Come what may I will protect the constitution of Pakistan. I will go to the last limit and exhaust all my options and exercise my right to appeal," Gilani Saturday told a gathering of leaders and workers of Pakistan Peoples Party in London.

He said his case was related to the interpretation of the constitution of the country and his only crime was protecting the constitution, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

A day earlier, Gilani had reiterated that there is no corruption case against him.

He said that if all institutions work within the constitution, then there will be no conflict and he has been working within the parameters of the constitution.

On April 26, Gilani was convicted for contempt of court by the Supreme Court that gave him a symbolic sentence till rising of the court for refusing to write to the Swiss authorities to reopen a corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari.

Gilani was indicted for contempt of court Feb 13.

Accused of graft, Zardari was granted amnesty under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in 2007 by then president Pervez Musharraf to facilitate his return home and, primarily that of his wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

The NRO that granted immunity to politicians and bureaucrats in corruption cases was struck down in 2009 by the Supreme Court as void.