The ruling Pakistan People's Party has nominated senior leader Makhdoom Shahabuddin for the post of premier following the Supreme Court's disqualification of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani. Shahbuddin is also a Sajjada Nashin or the descendant of a Sufi saint like his predecessor Yusuf Raza Gilani.
The ruling by Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to disqualify Yousaf Raza Gilani as prime minister has sent the Asif Ali Zardari-led Pakistan People's Party government into a deep political crisis. Amir Mir reports from Islamabad
As a fresh confrontation appeared imminent between Pakistan People's Party government and the judiciary, former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani has warned that this time the ruling party will not take any "unconstitutional" move by the Supreme Court against his successor "lying down".
The Pakistan Muslim League N chief Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday demanded early general elections, saying the country's problems would increase as long as the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government remains in office.
The Pakistan People's Party-led government will install a caretaker government in March next year to oversee the next general election, which will be held by May 18, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira has said.
When Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was meeting his Indian counterpart for ice-breaking talks in Russia, back home his confidante and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar warned India of a "befitting response" in case of any aggression.
Observers said the victory was significant as it came in the wake of the former premier's conviction and disqualification by the apex court for refusing to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari as well as growing disenchantment with the PPP-led government at the centre following widespread allegations of corruption.
Former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said Pakistan was humiliated at the NATO Summit in Chicago because of President Asif Ali Zardari's "zero credibility".
Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf will announce on August 14 the roadmap for the next general elections that are likely to be held in the first week of November, months ahead of schedule.
The ongoing war of words between a former Pakistani chief of army staff general and a former ISI chief, trading allegations and counter allegations in the supreme court and blaming each other for payment of millions of rupees among anti-Pakistan People's Party politicians to influence the results of the 1990 general elections, has abundantly made it clear how Pakistan's powerful military and intelligence establishment has been manipulating domestic politics for decades now.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari plans to not only disband the political wing of the spy agency but also make it accountable to his country's parliament, reports Amir Mir
A minor Christian girl arrested on a blasphemy charge in Islamabad continues to be held in a high-security jail despite her case being taken up by Pakistan's ruling Pakistan People's Party.
Fifteen lawmakers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, a key ally of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, were on Monday included in new Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf's council of ministers.
A Pakistani court on Monday constituted a larger bench to hear a contempt of court petition against President Asif Ali Zardari while a lawyer filed a plea in the supreme court challenging the president's immunity and holding of dual offices.
A four-judge bench of the Lahore high court headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial issued the direction after hearing arguments by the government's lawyer, Waseem Sajjad, who argued that the court had not passed any formal order to bar Zardari from holding the two offices of President and co-chairman of the PPP.
Pakistan's new Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf retained most key members of former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani's cabinet in the same positions as he allocated portfolios among his council of ministers.
The ruling Pakistan People's Party on Friday named former IT Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf as it candidate for the post of prime minister hours before a special session of Parliament convened to elect a new premier.
Raja Parvez Ashraf, Pakistan Peoples Party's prime minister, is a strong loyalist of the Bhutto family and hails from a royal family of Rawalpindi in Punjab.
There is a growing feeling within that country that these might provide a fresh start by bringing a new, and perhaps less corrupt and more responsive, government to power, says Seema Mustafa
Women came out in large numbers to vote on Wednesday despite terror attacks and repeated threats.
The name of the Pakistan People's Party's nominee for the office of the prime minister will be announced at a press conference at 11 am on Friday, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said on Thursday.
Senior Pakistan People's Party leader Raja Parvez Ashraf on Thursday emerged the leading contender for the post of premier despite reservations over his candidature within the ruling party and its allies.
A last minute drama on Thursday marked the selection of Pakistan's new prime minister as the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party choice Makhdoom Shahbuddin was issued a non-bailable warrant by an anti-drug court as he was filing his nomination, virtually ending his prospects.
A special session of Pakistan Parliament will be convened on Friday to elect a new premier following Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's disqualification by the supreme court.
Two persons were killed and property worth millions of rupees was damaged as violent protests against prolonged power outages spread across Pakistan's most populous province of Punjab, officials said on Tuesday.
"The continuous carpet bombing of Pakistan by drones is not only counterproductive on the war on terror, it's also an egregious violation of our sovereignty and must end," Bilawal Bhutto told the MSNBC news channel in an interview.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif riefs Opposition on LoC after India's surgical strikes
"Papa, I've been shot," were the last words of a 15-year-old boy who died after being struck by a stray bullet from aerial firing as frenzied celebrations rang across Pakistan over its cricket team's Champions Trophy triumph.
Amid controversy over Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's dual office, the Lahore high Court on Wednesday issued a notice to him to explain by September 14 why he had not followed its direction to relinquish the political post of co-chairman of the ruling Pakistan People's Party.
Prime Minister Raja Pervez Asharf will appear in the Supreme Court on Monday to face a contempt charge though a section of the ruling Pakistan People's Party is opposed to the move, sources said on Sunday.
The election of a new prime minister by Pakistan's National Assembly on Friday will be a three-way contest between Raja Parvez Ashraf of the ruling PPP, Sardar Mehtab Abbasi of the main opposition PML-N and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
As the Pakistan People's Party plans to file a review petition against the Supreme Court verdict on Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, experts say that the premier should step down on moral grounds before the country plunges into another political crisis. Tahir Ali reports
Little known Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Pakistan Peoples Party's nominee for the prime minister, is a strong loyalist of the Bhutto family and hails from a revered spiritual family in south Punjab.
Pakistan Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ineligible to hold the office and said he stood disqualified since April 26 when he was convicted and sentenced for contempt.
"The withdrawal of Pakistani troops is possible provided India also agrees. It will not be a unilateral decision," he said while addressing a convention of workers of his Pakistan People's Party in Okara district, 100 km from Lahore, on Friday.
Pakistan's main opposition Pakistan Muslim Lea-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif has demanded early elections, amidst speculation about the future of beleaguered President Asif Ali Zardari and the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government that has been rocked by string of crises.
Senior Pakistan People's Party leader Syed Talib Husain Shah was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Gujrat district of Punjab province, police officials said on Wednesday.
"I want to make a promise to the people that the next election will be held on time and will be fair, free and impartial," Zardari told a meeting of workers of his Pakistan People's Party at Khairpur in Sindh province on Sunday
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has agreed to visit Pakistan on the invitation of Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
"I have read about the ISI chief's statement in the media but I don't think the intelligence agency has stopped monitoring the activities of our politicians," a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan People's Party, who did not want to be named, said.
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