PPP nominates former PM's son to contest by-poll

The ruling Pakistan Peoples Party on Saturday nominated former premier Yusuf Raza Gilani's son to contest the by-poll in his parliamentary constituency following his father's disqualification by the Supreme Court.

Four days after the apex court disqualified Gilani due to his conviction of contempt, the PPP said his son Abdul Qadir Gilani would contest the by-poll in Multan constituency scheduled for July 19.

Abdul Qadir is currently a member of the Punjab Assembly.

Gilani's daughter Fiza Batool too posted a message about the decision to field her brother on micro-blogging site Twitter.

"PPP nominates Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani to contest from Multan," she wrote. In another post, she said the "court of the people will give their verdict on July 19".

Ali Musa, another son of the former premier, was recently elected to the National Assembly or lower house of Parliament.

However, both Ali Musa and Abdul Qadir have been linked to corruption scandals.

While Ali Musa has been accused of involvement in alleged irregularities in the import of a large quantity of the controlled drug Ephedrine, Abdul Qadir has been linked to a scam in the arrangement of the Haj pilgrimage.

Both brothers have denied the allegations leveled against them and Gilani has said his sons were framed.

In a separate development, Gilani has reportedly moved into the sprawling presidency, in the heart of Islamabad, due to security concerns.

TV news channels reported that Gilani had been provided a three-room suite on the sixth floor of the President's official residence.

Gilani had earlier moved into the Islamabad Club after he was disqualified by the Supreme Court. The news channels quoted their sources as saying that Gilani could not stay at the club due to security concerns.

Some reports said Gilani was expected to play a behind-the-scenes role in guiding the administration of new Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.

Ashraf was on Friday elected the prime minister during a special session of the National Assembly following Gilani's disqualification.

Gilani was convicted by the apex court in April after he refused to reopen graft cases in Switzerland against President Asif Ali Zardari.