Makhdoom Shahabuddin tipped as Pak’s next PM

The ruling Pakistan People's Party has apparently nominated senior leader Makhdoom Shahabuddin for the post of prime minister following a Supreme Court order on Tuesday disqualifying current Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on contempt of court charges.

The decision was made at a meeting of senior PPP leaders chaired by President Zardari early this morning, Pakistan's Geo News channel quoted its sources as saying. The meeting further decided to convene a session of the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, on Thursday to formally elect the new leader of the house, the report said.

There was no official word on the development from the PPP or the presidency. The move came in the wake of two separate meetings of the PPP's central executive committee and the leaders of the ruling coalition led by the PPP.

Both meetings had authorised Zardari, the head of the PPP, to choose the new premier. A formal announcement about the nominee for the post of premier is expected after a meeting of the PPP's parliamentary party scheduled for this afternoon.

Local reports said former premier Gilani had expressed reservations over the candidature of Shahabuddin during the meeting of the PPP and its allies last night. Both Gilani and Shahabuddin belong to the southern part of Punjab and political rivalries were believed to be the reason for Gilani's reservations.

Leaders of parties in the ruling coalition have assured Zardari of their full support for the election of the new premier, PTI said citing sources. The leaders further advised Zardari not to confront the apex court over the disqualification of Gilani.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on Tuesday disqualified Gilani in response to several petitions challenging National Assembly speaker Fehmida Mirza's decision not to disqualify the premier following his conviction over contempt of court.

The bench said the post of premier had in effect been vacant since 26 April, when another seven-judge bench had convicted Gilani of contempt for refusing to reopen graft cases in Switzerland against Zardari despite the court's orders.