“No question of disqualification of Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani from being a member arises under clause (2) of Article 63 of the Constitution,” Dr Fehmida Mirza, who is also a member of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, said in her five-page ruling released on Thursday.
The speaker refused to send a reference against the premier to the Election Commission, and dismissed a court order and a subsequent petition that sought his disqualification.
“I am of the view that the charges against Yousaf Raza Gilani are not relatable to the grounds mentioned in paragraph (g) or (h) of clause (1) of Article 63. The letters of the Assistant Registrar (IMP) for Registrar of the Supreme Court stands answered accordingly. Furthermore, the petition of Maulvi Iqbal Haider, Advocate being without any merit, is not maintainable and accordingly rejected,” the ruling stated.
The decision had already triggered a fresh constitutional and legal debate in the country, whereby the ruling PPP is set to stand firm in its stance that parliament is the supreme institution and this ruling cannot be challenged at any other forum.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Gilani called the speaker’s decision a “victory for democracy”.
“Today, for the first time in the history of Pakistan, democracy has won and the speaker ruled in my favour,” he told a ceremony in Islamabad.
However, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, opposition leader in the National Assembly from the main opposition party Pakistan Muslim League-N, rejected the decision and told reporters that the speaker “has not done justice”.
Source: Express Tribune
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