ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf was ordered on Wednesday to appear before the Supreme Court over his failure to comply with orders to re-open corruption cases against the president.

The move, another twist in a long-running standoff between the government and the judiciary, could lead to further political instability in Pakistan, just two months after Ashraf's predecessor, Yusuf Raza Gilani, was found guilty of contempt over the same issue and disqualified.

"We hereby issue a notice to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf ... to show cause why he may not be proceeded against for committing contempt," the court said in its short order.

(Writing by Qasim Nauman; Editing by Nick Macfie)