No disqualification: Mirza's decision is a victory for democracy, says Gilani

Gilani states that Fehmida Mirza's refusal to send a reference against him speaks of victory for democracy.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has said that Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza’s refusal to send a reference against him to the Election Commission is a victory for democracy, Express News reported on Friday.

Speaking at the Convention Centre in Islamabad, at a teacher’s gathering, Gilani stated that if former speaker of the National Assembly Maulvi Tamizuddin’s plea to the court would have been heard, Pakistan's fate would have been different today.

Gilani further stated that even though education has become a provincial matter after the 18^th Amendment, the Federal Government will not remain negligent.

His speech was met with cheers and sloganeering by the teachers present on the occasion.

Two days before the possible expiry of a 30-day deadline to decide on the fate of the prime minister, the National Assembly speaker dismissed bids to disqualify Yousaf Raza Gilani following his conviction by the Supreme Court in a contempt case last month.

“No question of disqualification of Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani from being a member arises under clause (2) of Article 63 of the Constitution,” stated Dr Fehmida Mirza, in her five-page ruling released on Thursday.