KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has congratulated former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on the end of his disqualification period handed out to him five years ago. “Yousuf Raza Gilani stood by the oath he took as the prime minister to protect the constitution of Pakistan and the rule of law. He stood firmly by the ideology of the PPP and safeguarded the 1973 Constitution,” said a PPP statement. It said that Yousuf Raza Gilani had stepped down to avert the clash of institutions, and to strengthen Pakistan’s fledgling democracy. “At the end of his disqualification, the PPP, its leadership and workers congratulate him for his courage and unwavering loyalty,” the statement concluded.