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| Yousuf Raza Gilani [FILE PHOTO] [Credit: World Economic Forum] |
Islamabad: In a stunning move, Pakistan's top court stripped Yousuf Raza Gilani from prime ministership on Tuesday after being convicted of contempt.
The Supreme Court convicted Gilani of contempt on April 26 for refusing to ask Switzerland to reopen multi-million-dollar graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
Pakistan's election commission later issued a formal notice disqualifying Gilani as a member of parliament as ordered by the Supreme Court, backdating the disqualificatin to April 26.
Gilani, however, vowed to complete the final months of his term. He asserted that only the speaker of parliament has the power to remove him from office.
Earlier, Assembly speaker and Zardari's ally Fehmida Mirza ruled last month that Gilani was free to remain as premier, prompting petitions to the court to disqualify him.
Notably, the staggering verdict has been accepted by the ruling-Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).