ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 22 (UPI) -- Pakistan's ruling party selected a former minister for water and power Friday as its candidate for prime minister, party leaders said.
Raja Pervez Ashraf would replace Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, who was dismissed as prime minister by Pakistan's Supreme Court for refusing to pursue a corruption case against the country's president, The New York Times reported.
The ruling Pakistan People's Party announced Ashraf as its candidate after a narcotics arrest warrant was issued for its first choice, Makhdoom Shahabuddin, the report said.
Senior party leader Kursheed Shah said the decision to move to Ashraf shows that the government is determined not to enter into an open confrontation with the judiciary.
Ashraf is an ethnic Punjabi who represents the garrison city of Rawalpindi near Islamabad. He served as water and power minister from March 2008 until February 2011 when he was accused of being partly responsible for an electricity crisis.
