Gilani conviction doesn’t disqualify him, assembly speaker says

ISLAMABAD – Pakistani National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza May 24 said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s contempt of court conviction by the Supreme Court did not disqualify him from being a member of parliament, media reported.

Mirza said she would not send a reference against Gilani to the Election Commission of Pakistan, Dawn reported.

The speaker in her ruling claimed that no question of Gilani’s disqualification arose in the contempt of court case, media reported.

Gilani was was found in contempt April 26 for failing to ask the Swiss to re-open corruption charges against President Asif Ali Zardari.