Pakistan's Supreme Court indicted Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Monday for contempt of court. The prime minister pleaded not guilty.

If Mr. Gilani is found guilty, he could be removed from office and sent to prison.

The development is the latest in an ongoing battle between the court and the prime minister over the status of corruption cases dating back to the 1990s. Prosecutors accuse Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and others of laundering millions of dollars through Swiss bank accounts. Ms. Bhutto, President Zardari's wife, was assassinated in 2007.

Charges against Mr. Zardari and the others were initially dropped after a 2007 amnesty agreement, but the court struck down the deal in 2009 and has been battling to reopen the cases ever since.

Prime Minister Gilani has refused to cooperate, arguing instead that Mr. Zardari has legal immunity while in office.