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Pakistan Supreme Court disqualifies Prime Minister

Pakistan’s increasingly assertive Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ineligible for office, plunging the country into fresh political turmoil during a … Continue reading Pakistan Supreme Court disqualifies Prime Minister


Pakistan’s increasingly assertive Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ineligible for office, plunging the country into fresh political turmoil during a crisis in relations with the United States.

In April, it found Gilani guilty of contempt of court for refusing to reopen corruption cases against the president.

“Since no appeal was filed (against the April 26 conviction) … therefore Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani stands disqualified as a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (parliament)…,” said Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in a packed courtroom.

“He has also ceased to be the prime minister of Pakistan … the office of the prime minister stands vacant.”

But Fawad Chaudhry, a senior Gilani aide, said only parliament could dismiss the prime minister.

While the decision is a big blow to the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), it is unlikely to lead to the fall of the unpopular government.

The PPP and its coalition partners have the numbers in parliament to elect a new prime minister until the government’s term ends early next year.

“I don’t see this as a major constitutional breakdown unless the PPP ignores this decision,” said legal expert Salman Raja.

“I think sanity will prevail and they should be able to do that fairly easily given that they just passed the budget – they clearly have a majority (in parliament).”

The Supreme Court directed the Election Commission of Pakistan to issue a notification declaring Gilani ineligible for office. He is the first serving prime minister in Pakistan’s history to be convicted by a court.

The political instability is likely to further distract Pakistan’s leaders from tackling a dizzying array of problems fueling public anger, from crippling power cuts to rampant corruption to a struggling economy.

The United States, which pours billions of dollars of aid into Pakistan, will likely view the latest political saga with unease as it struggles to persuade Islamabad to re-open the supply routes to NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Pakistan is seen as critical to U.S. efforts pacify Afghanistan after more than a decade of war against the Taliban but it is often described as an unreliable ally.

CHAUDHRY BACK IN SPOTLIGHT

The decision puts Chaudhry back at the centre of Pakistan’s political turbulent stage.

Chaudhry became a household name in Pakistan and gained international recognition in 2007 when he stood up to then President Pervez Musharraf over his legally questionable bid to hold on to power.

Since then Chaudhry has emerged as a major force in Pakistan, taking on the unpopular government over allegations of corruption, and more significantly the military, which has ruled the country for more than half of its 64-year history.

Chaudhry took up cases involving kidnappings and torture of suspected Islamist militants allegedly carried out by the military and intelligence agencies. They deny the charges.

“The Supreme Court has expanded its domain once again,” said analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi.

“The Supreme Court does not have the power to dismiss the prime minister, only the parliament does. It’s the first time in Pakistan’s history that the Supreme Court has removed a prime minister and it has created a precedent.”

The move comes during a difficult time for the chief justice.

A Pakistani real estate tycoon on Tuesday accused Chaudhry of turning a blind eye to his son’s alleged corrupt financial practices.

Malik Riaz, who fashions himself as a billionaire philanthropist, said he had given almost $3.6 million in bribes to Chaudhry’s son Arsalan Iftikhar.

Riaz, who has been accused of fraud, suggested that Chaudhry knew about the matter in advance of the Supreme Court’s hearings on the issue this week. Arsalan Iftikhar has denied all allegations.