Gilani loses Zardari’s battle in Pak apex court
20 Jun 2012 1:21 AM GMT
Amidst perennial political uncertainties in Pakistan, the Supreme Court, expectedly, ruled on Tuesday that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani stood disqualified to hold his office due to his conviction for contempt of court and that a new prime minister should be appointed. The apex court of Pakistan asked President Asif Ali Zardari to appoint Gilani’s successor.
A three-judge bench headed by the chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry issued the verdict in response to several petitions that had challenged the National Assembly speaker Fehmida Mirza’s decision not to disqualify Gilani following his conviction nearly two months ago. The bench further ruled that the post of the premier had been vacant since 26 April, when a seven-judge bench had convicted Gilani of contempt for refusing to reopen graft cases in Switzerland against President Zardari.
The bench also directed the Election Commission to issue a notification, stating that Gilani, 60, was no longer a member of Parliament.
The turmoil in the neighbouring country has caused concern in India as well. Pakistan experts in Delhi are of the view that this action was long overdue and it may hamper the on-going peace process between India and Pakistan. Uma Singh, a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University said, ‘This development was long overdue and that Parliament had being dilly-dallying after the PM was convicted. This is not something unexpected. Zardari will now witness more trouble, as new premier will confront the same situation.’
Singh said that this could also hamper the peace process between the two countries. ‘As the atmosphere of a dialogue between Indian and Pakistan looked good, such a volatile situation in Pakistan would affect the process. Also the external affairs minister’s visit to Pakistan in July could be affected.’
Ajay Darshan Behera, the coordinator of Pakistan studies program, Jamia Millia Islamia University, however, said that there were some technical loopholes in the case, like why the court took so long in taking the step.
Meanwhile, in response to a demand from a petitioner that the court should direct the president to order the election of a new premier, the bench asked Zardari to act according to the constitution for the continuation of democracy. During the hearing of the petitions on Monday, the chief justice had questioned whether a convicted person could continue representing the millions of Pakistanis.
In December 2009, the apex court had annulled a graft amnesty issued by the former military ruler Pervez Musharraf that benefited Zardari and over 8,000 others.
A three-judge bench headed by the chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry issued the verdict in response to several petitions that had challenged the National Assembly speaker Fehmida Mirza’s decision not to disqualify Gilani following his conviction nearly two months ago. The bench further ruled that the post of the premier had been vacant since 26 April, when a seven-judge bench had convicted Gilani of contempt for refusing to reopen graft cases in Switzerland against President Zardari.
The bench also directed the Election Commission to issue a notification, stating that Gilani, 60, was no longer a member of Parliament.
The turmoil in the neighbouring country has caused concern in India as well. Pakistan experts in Delhi are of the view that this action was long overdue and it may hamper the on-going peace process between India and Pakistan. Uma Singh, a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University said, ‘This development was long overdue and that Parliament had being dilly-dallying after the PM was convicted. This is not something unexpected. Zardari will now witness more trouble, as new premier will confront the same situation.’
Singh said that this could also hamper the peace process between the two countries. ‘As the atmosphere of a dialogue between Indian and Pakistan looked good, such a volatile situation in Pakistan would affect the process. Also the external affairs minister’s visit to Pakistan in July could be affected.’
Ajay Darshan Behera, the coordinator of Pakistan studies program, Jamia Millia Islamia University, however, said that there were some technical loopholes in the case, like why the court took so long in taking the step.
Meanwhile, in response to a demand from a petitioner that the court should direct the president to order the election of a new premier, the bench asked Zardari to act according to the constitution for the continuation of democracy. During the hearing of the petitions on Monday, the chief justice had questioned whether a convicted person could continue representing the millions of Pakistanis.
In December 2009, the apex court had annulled a graft amnesty issued by the former military ruler Pervez Musharraf that benefited Zardari and over 8,000 others.
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