Tweet
Pakistan's top court disqualified Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani from office on Tuesday in a stunning move likened to a "judicial coup" that plunged the country into fresh turmoil.
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, the culmination of a showdown between the judiciary and the government.
The move exacerbates uncertainty in a country that is increasingly trying US patience over Al-Qaeda-linked havens, struggling with a Taliban insurgency and heading deeper towards a financial crisis that could force it back to the IMF.
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, the culmination of a showdown between the judiciary and the government.
The move exacerbates uncertainty in a country that is increasingly trying US patience over Al-Qaeda-linked havens, struggling with a Taliban insurgency and heading deeper towards a financial crisis that could force it back to the IMF.