“This has been going on for one and a half years,” he said. “If
they really believe he is involved why have they waited until today to issue
an arrest warrant?”
Party leaders were meeting on Thursday night to select an alternative
candidate. Qamar Zaman Kaira and Raja Parvez Ashraf, both former ministers
in Mr Gilani’s cabinet, filed nomination papers for the post ahead of
Friday’s parliamentary vote.
Pakistan’s
civilian government, military and judiciary are locked in a three-way tussle
for supremacy.
On Tuesday, Mr Gilani was barred from office after refusing to act on a
Supreme Court order to ask Swiss authorities to reopen a corruption
investigation into President Zardari.
His replacement will find himself under similar pressure from the country’s
chief justice to write to Swiss investigators or face disqualification and a
fresh wave of turmoil.
Mr Shahabuddin’s charge relates to a complex scam that saw two pharmaceutical
firms awarded extra quotas for the controlled substance ephedrine, which can
be used as a stimulant or in the manufacture of illicit drugs.
They claimed they had licences to export the drug to Afghanistan, but
investigators believe it was then sold into the local market.
Mr Shahabuddin was health minister when the scandal came to light in 2011. He
denies the charges.
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