The Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Yousaf Raza Gilani ineligible to hold the office of the prime minister, pushing the country into a new political turmoil with the nation already facing acute power shortage resulting in violent demonstrations across the country.
Gilani can file a review appeal against the verdict within 30 days.
A three-member bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain issued a short order, asking President Asif Ali Zardari to take “necessary steps” under the constitution to ensure continuation of the democratic process.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry read out the order, saying, “The Election Commission shall issue a notice of disqualification and the president is required to take necessary steps to ensure continuation of the democratic process.”
The court order said a bench of seven judges vide its judgment dated April 26, 2012 followed by detailed reasons released on May 8, 2012 had found Yousaf Raza Gilani guilty of contempt of court under Article 204(2) read with Section 3 of the Contempt of Court Ordinance, 2003 and it had sentenced Gilani to undergo imprisonment until the rising of the court under Section 5 of the said ordinance. The court order added that since no appeal was filed against the judgment, the conviction had attained “finality”.
“Therefore, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has become disqualified from being a member of parliament in terms of Article 63(1) (g) of the constitution on and from the date and time of pronouncement of the judgment of this court dated April 26, 2012 with all consequences, i.e. he has also ceased to be prime minister with effect from the said date and the office of the prime minister will be deemed to be vacant accordingly,” the order said.
Earlier, Attorney General Irfan Qadir said in his arguments that under the constitution, the immunity provided to Gilani could not be withdrawn and parliament was not answerable to any court.
However, the bench asked the attorney general to assist the court proceedings rather than defending the PM.
“The contempt of court law was made in the colonial era when the subcontinent was operating under the British rule,” said the AG, accusing the seven-member bench which issued the previous judgment against Gilani on April 26 more inclined towards disqualifying him, rather than ascertaining whether any contempt was committed. The chief justice said the court respected parliament and the parliament should do its job as the court did its own.Qadir said that if the court took a decision against the NA speaker’s ruling, it would create a conflict between two state institutions. However, the chief justice rubbished his argument, stating that there was no conflict between the institutions.
Next PM will be from South Punjab
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and former textiles minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin have emerged as strong candidates for prime minister’s slot, as President Asif Ali Zardari has decided to nominate a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader from South Punjab to the top post, Pakistan Today has learnt.
According to a source in the ruling party, Zardari is keeping his cards close to his chest and nobody is sure who would replace Yousaf Raza Gilani, who was declared disqualified by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday. However, according to the source, Hina was a bit ahead of Shahabuddin in the race for prime minister’s post, as Gilani was also supporting her nomination while opposing Shahabuddin as his replacement.
The coalition partners met late Tuesday night to evaluate the situation in the wake of the apex court’s decision and finalise a replacement for Gilani, but after failing to evolve consensus on the next would-be prime minister, authorised Zardari to make the nomination. The source said earlier in the day that the party’s core committee had resolved to appoint Ahmed Mukhtar as the new premier, but the nomination was trashed after Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Secretary General Mushahid Hussain objected to the idea during the coalition heads’ meeting.
“However, PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat told President Zardari that he had no reservations over Mukhtar’s nomination,” said the source, adding that after Shujaat’s statement, Zardari said the new prime minister would be from southern Punjab – the only area of Punjab where the PPP had strongest support in 2008 elections.
“Though Hina and Shahabuddin are in the run, Hina is better placed as she has Gilani’s backing, while the president also has an obsession with nominating women against important slots,” the source said. “And women have also never disappointed him. Just take the example of National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza who stood by the president and the party even when her husband Zardari’s and close companion Dr Zulfiqar Mirza had ditched him,” the source added. During the meeting, the coalition partners empowered Zardari to name the new prime minister besides convening a National Assembly session on Thursday evening in this regard, the PPP insider said, adding that Zardari, who is also the co-chairman of the PPP, held a detailed discussion with the party’s Central Executive Committee on naming the new premier.
THEY GOT HIM !
