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Pakistan People's Party meets to appoint a new PM Pakistan People's Party meets to appoint a new PM
(about 1 hour later)
The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) is meeting to discuss a replacement to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, a day after he was disqualified from holding office by the Supreme Court.The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) is meeting to discuss a replacement to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, a day after he was disqualified from holding office by the Supreme Court.
President Asif Ali Zardari has cancelled his scheduled visit to Russia as a result of the ruling.President Asif Ali Zardari has cancelled his scheduled visit to Russia as a result of the ruling.
The president may convene parliament on Thursday to elect the new PM if a consensus is reached on Wednesday. The president has summoned parliament to meet on Friday to elect a new PM.
Mr Gilani's constituency has been declared "vacant" by the authorities. Judges convicted Mr Gilani of contempt of court in April for failing to pursue corruption charges against Mr Zardari.
The court disqualified him from holding office two months after convicting him of contempt of court. But they gave Mr Gilani a token sentence and spared him a jail term. The decision to disqualify him nearly two months later came as a surprise.
In April, it convicted him of failing to pursue corruption charges against President Asif Ali Zardari. But it gave the PM a token sentence and spared him a jail term. The pursuit of the contempt case by increasingly assertive Supreme Court judges is widely seen as an attempt at meddling in the country's politics.
The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says that many in Pakistan see the court ruling as taking the clash of the institutions in the country a step further. Mr Gilani's constituency has now been declared "vacant" by the authorities.
'Soft coup''Soft coup'
Religious Affairs Minister Syed Khursheed Shah said that the lower house of parliament will elect a new prime minister on Friday. PPP senior leaders and their coalition partners are trying to reach consensus on a new candidate for PM.
He said that the papers of candidates would be filed by Thursday. Correspondents say that while the PPP is the largest party in parliament, it does not have a majority so its allies will insist on concessions for their support for a new premier.
Correspondents say that while the PPP is the largest party in parliament, it does not have a majority so its coalition partners will insist on concessions for their support for a new premier.
The drama surrounding the PM's disqualification has been extensively covered in the Pakistani press.The drama surrounding the PM's disqualification has been extensively covered in the Pakistani press.
In an editorial, the Dawn newspaper has described the ruling as "extraordinary and unfortunate". In an editorial, the Dawn newspaper described the ruling as "extraordinary and unfortunate".
The paper said that the court "has both disrupted an existing democratic set-up and set a worrying precedent for the future".The paper said that the court "has both disrupted an existing democratic set-up and set a worrying precedent for the future".
Meanwhile former Pakistan Bar Council President Asma Jehangir told BBC Urdu that the government had to abide by the Supreme Court if it wanted to prevent a "soft coup".
She said that there was already a "smell in the air" to suggest that "soldiers are lurking behind a civilian face" - a reference to Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
"When the court becomes a dictator, the situation could get worse than under a [military] dictatorship," she said.
Other newspapers have been equally critical of the ruling.Other newspapers have been equally critical of the ruling.
The Daily Express Tribune in its editorial said that the Supreme Court "had played the roles of judiciary, legislature and executive" and that some may see the ruling as a "judicial coup".The Daily Express Tribune in its editorial said that the Supreme Court "had played the roles of judiciary, legislature and executive" and that some may see the ruling as a "judicial coup".
Meanwhile, former Pakistan Bar Council President Asma Jehangir told BBC Urdu that the government had to abide by the Supreme Court if it wanted to prevent a "soft coup".
She said that there was already a "smell in the air" to suggest that "soldiers are lurking behind a civilian face" - a reference to Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
"When the court becomes a dictator, the situation could get worse than under a [military] dictatorship," she said.
The removal of the PM is the culmination of a bitter feud between Pakistan's civilian government and the judiciary.The removal of the PM is the culmination of a bitter feud between Pakistan's civilian government and the judiciary.
In April, Mr Gilani was given only a token sentence and spared a jail term.
The court backdated the disqualification to 26 April, raising questions over decisions Mr Gilani has made in office since then - including the budget.The court backdated the disqualification to 26 April, raising questions over decisions Mr Gilani has made in office since then - including the budget.
The charges against President Zardari date back to the 1990s when his late wife Benazir Bhutto was prime minister. They were accused of using Swiss bank accounts to launder bribe money.
President Zardari has always insisted the charges against him are politically motivated.
The Supreme Court ordered Mr Gilani's government to write to the Swiss authorities to ask them to reopen the cases against Mr Zardari. But Mr Gilani refused, saying the case had been closed by a Swiss judge "on merit" and the president had constitutional immunity.
Mr Gilani and his supporters have always insisted only parliament can remove him from office.
General elections are due by early next year.