The Muslim Times’ Editor for Pakistan
Credit: Xpress Tribune
By deciding not to file an appeal the government has, in principle, accepted the Supreme Court’s verdict in Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s contempt case – according to the opposition at least.
“The SC’s judgment has attained finality,” Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) spokesperson Shafqat Mehmood said while talking to The Express Tribune. He added that the government was ‘instigating the court’ to disqualify the prime minister in clear terms, saying that the matter would go to the court again.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) appeared to agree. Party spokesperson Senator Mushahidullah Khan told The Express Tribune that “not filing an appeal against Prime Minister Gilani’s conviction implies the government has accepted the Supreme Court’s decision”.
Senator Mushahidullah also expressed his disapproval of National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza’s role in the matter, saying that through her ruling, the government superseded a decision made by a seven-judge bench of the apex court. More