Pakistan: Supreme Court disqualifies Prime Minister

Supreme Court ofPakistanhas disqualified Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, two months after finding him in contempt of court. The Supreme Court ruled that he must “cease to serve as Prime Minister ofPakistan”.

In April, the Supreme Court convicted Mr Gilani of failing to pursue corruption charges against President Asif Ali Zardari. The legal case is part of a bitter fight between the civilian government ofPakistanand justice.

In this Thursday, April 26, 2012 file photo, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani waves as he arrives at the Supreme Court for a hearing in Islamabad, Pakistan.

In April, Mr Gilani was given a ceremonial sentence, sparing him from jail. But the Supreme Court on Tuesday disqualified him from office and the lower house of parliament. “In the absence of an appeal (against the April 26 conviction)… Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani is disqualified from being a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora [lower house],” Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry told a packed courtroom. “He is also suspended from being the prime minister of the country.”Pakistan…. The prime minister's office is vacant”.

The move was widely seen as a “judicial coup” in a country plagued by destabilizing conflicts between the courts, the military and elected governments.