A lawyer for Pakistan's prime minister said Wednesday there would be no harm in the government's asking Swiss authorities to reopen an old corruption case against the country's president, because he enjoys immunity from prosecution.

The comments by Aitzaz Ahsan might suggest a way out of a legal crisis that could force Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani from office. The mounting political pressures threaten to bring down the country's beleaguered government, which is under a combined assault from the Supreme Court and the powerful army.

Gilani is scheduled to make a rare appearance Thursday before the Supreme Court, which has initiated contempt proceedings against him for failing to write a letter to Swiss authorities asking them to reopen the graft case against his ally, President Asif Ali Zardari.

The government has long refused to write the letter, arguing that Zardari enjoys immunity from prosecution while in office. Ahsan's comments indicate Gilani may reverse that stance to avoid being held in contempt of court, while using the same legal argument to avoid prosecution. If he were held in contempt he could face a maximum of five years in prison and be disqualified from holding public office.