Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday disqualified Yousuf Raza Gilani from the post of prime minister, Pakistani media reported.
The Supreme Court on April 26 declared Gilani convicted of contempt of court and non-fulfillment of its orders after he refused to send a formal request to the Swiss authorities to disclose details of the bank account of President Asif Ali Zardari. Gilani refused to reopen the cases closed in 2007 over corruption of a number of political elite of Pakistan.
“Yousuf Raza Gilani has been disqualified from the membership of parliament from April 26, which is the date of his conviction, and he has also ceased to be the prime minister of Pakistan,” Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry said.
The court on Tuesday ruled Asif Ali Zardari to nominate a new prime minister.
According to the Pakistani Constitution, any member of the parliament who refuses to satisfy the order of the court can be disqualified from the membership of the parliament. Gilani previously said that the prime minister could be fired only under the parliament’s decision.
In December 2009, the Supreme Court returned the verdict of unconstitutionality Decree on Amnesty of 2007 which was adopted by the then military leader of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf. The decree declared amnesty to politicians and former officials from the opposition parties against whom criminal cases were opened.
Current President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari as well as other current members of the cabinet were among the defendants in the corruption cases. Gilani did not reopen the cases citing the fact that the president has legal immunity when he takes his post.
In 2007, Musharraf took the decision of amnesty as a move toward political reconciliation. The decree of amnesty was the result of an agreement between Musharraf and the opposition which was reached under the mediation of the United States and was intended primarily for the then opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, who lived in exile. The decree has opened an opportunity for many prominent politicians, including Bhutto, to return to their homeland and take part in parliamentary elections. Now the amnesty is the reason for the attacks on the current cabinet.
