Islamabad, Jan 16 (IANS) The country would stand by the Supreme Court, said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan Monday after the apex court issued a contempt notice to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilanifor not initiating action against President Asif Ali Zardari.

Speaking in Punjab’s Sukkur city, Imran Khan said the country would stand by the Supreme Court if the government decides to take on the court.

He said the government did not comply with the court orders so as to protect President Zardari.

“The whole nation is with the SC. The constitution, not parliament, is sovereign and no one will accept martial law,” Geo News quoted Imran as saying.

The Supreme Court Monday issued a contempt notice to Gilani for not implementing its directive to act against Zardari, who had been granted amnesty by the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in cases of corruption. Gilani was directed to appear personally before the bench Jan 19.

The NRO, issued in 2007 by then president Parvez Musharraf to facilitate the return of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband Zardari, had been struck down as void by the Supreme Court in 2009.