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I'm the longest-serving premier in Pakistan's history: Gilani
Gilani asks what the opposition did when they were in power, says govt’s job is to follow mandate of the people.
government’s job is to follow the mandate of the people. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
LAHORE: Faced by the possibility of being stripped of office, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has said that he already has the privilege of being the longest-serving premier in the history of Pakistan.
“The only stable position rests with Allah,” he told reporters on Friday, after speaking at the ninth convocation of the Lahore College for Women University. “All my actions are in compliance with the constitution and accord to the rule of law.”
Gilani, who appeared before the Supreme Court on Thursday for contempt proceedings against him, confidently responded to question on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief’s constant demand that a letter be written to Swiss authorities. “The matter is now in court and its verdict will be followed. We will also respect the court’s ruling on the issue of presidential immunity.” His objective, he said, is to strengthen the judiciary and democracy.
When asked about the opposition’s charges of a clash among institutions, he chose to reiterate what he is always said: “if all institutions follow the tracheotomy of powers, they will work within their constitutional limits and there will be no clash among institutions.”
Asked about the opposition’s demand for early elections, he said that the job of the government is to follow the people’s mandate and that of the opposition to criticise rulers. But he used the opportunity to ask the opposition to dwell on their own record of governance as well.
The premier said that dictators who came into power made tall claims on ending corruption and poverty, but despite staying in power for decades, the fail to do so. “They still say that the nation is missing them and they want to come back. We want to tell them that there is no chance for them to come back,” he said, in a thinly-veiled reference to former president Pervez Musharraf who is expected to return for the next general elections.
Nato supplies
When asked if the government will reopen Nato supply routes that were closed after the November killings of Pakistani soldiers, Gilani said the government has left that decision to the parliamentary committee on national security. “Once the committee hands over its recommendations, we will call a joint session of parliament.”
Gilani said that the government had responded in a befitting manner to the attack. “We got the US forces to vacate the Shamsi Airbase, boycotted the Bonn Conference and blocked Nato supplies through Pakistani routes,” he said. “We did this because we are not answerable to any other country.”
Energy crisis
Speaking about the energy crisis, which has become a sore point for the incumbent government, Gilani said that he was aware of the gravity of the situation and had added 3,334MW of electricity to the national grid. “In the next six months, we will resolve the problems of the electricity, gas and petroleum sectors,” he said.
He said that he had presented a policy statement before the National Assembly over the issues and had asked for the opposition’s recommendations.
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Reader Comments (45)
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And the worst as well, just look at what you have done to this country since you took office! Absolutely nothing!Recommend
Another example, how patient Pakistani people are.
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The length of the tenure should have been marked with visible contribution towards bettering the quality of life of the People of Pakistan, instead of incompetence and corruption in every walk of life.
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No need to be Proud….Look at end of Qaddafi.
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Well done Zardari and Gilani. You are on track to win the elections again.
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May God give your more time to exit honourably. Ameen.
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You can’t be “the first longest-serving PM” because it is grammatically incorrect. You are the Longest Serving PM. Shows how competent he really is.
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Unfortunately, you don’t have much to show for it.
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I love you Mr PM…
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And today’s people are most suffering people in the history of Pakistan
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Politicians are above all Laws….Thats what they showing us..
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Dear Mr Gillani,
The people of Pakistan wanted you to improve the economy, bring law and order, create jobs, provide free education and so much more. In reality, the country is going in the exact opposite direction of what you promised during your campaigns. It is obvious that the only thing you care about at the moment is completing your tenure; and that’s so cheap of you.
God save Pakistan from such short-sighted leaders in future.
Regards.
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Congratulations!
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one day he says he doesn’t care if he stays in power or not (the country’s supreme), the next day he boasts about how he has stayed in power for the longest duration. Is he stupid or what??
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I was also hoping he’d be the longest serving prime minister….30 years in solitary confinement is what I had in mind
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And what about quality?
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You deserve a medal, and by the way which country were serving???
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It doesn’t make sense does it?
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This claim itself is enough to be ashamed of your tenure.Recommend
Go to retirement nowRecommend
This means that his focus was to stay in power as long as possible rather than serving the countrymen and try and alleviate their problems and this is evident from the mess we are in…….I am sure you know Sir that Longer is not necessarily Better….
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I’m the longest-serving premier in Pakistan’s history: Gilani
Mr. Gillani, you’re proud of it but People of Pakistan are crying on it that what you have done in your tenure.Would that you’ve done some good things for Pakistan!
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Dear PM
You may be the longest serving or whatever.
How good have you brought? Is the country better nwo than 4 years ago?
Is poverty down, illitracy down? crime down? inflation down? debt down? corruption down? ANYTHING?
Sorry to burst your bubble. You should take off your TINTED glasses.
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Gilani sahib is getting ahead of himself. Liaqat Ali Khan is still longest serving PM at 1525 days. Then Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) at 1421 days. Gilani has been PM for 1396 days uptill today. If Gilani is still PM on 29th May this year he will officially become longest serving premier. A lot can happen in 4 months.
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Why on earth is your ‘longevity as Prime Minister’ anything to brag about for Pakistan and the people of Pakistan?
Has the PPP government resolved the power crises?
Has the PPP government made institutions like the FIA, IB and NAB autonomous, bipartisan and effective?
Has the PPP government reduced the billions of dollars being lost annually through the major Public Sector Enterprises like PIA, Pak Steel, Pak Railways etc.?
Your government has done nothing other than whine about ‘democracy is the best revenge’ and ‘conspiracies against democracy’, as if just having you people in office is somehow ‘Allah’s gift to Pakistan’.
If you cannot do the job and you are too mired in conspiracies, for heavens sake resign and allow some new leadership in the PPP to take over the Presidency and Prime Minister position – democracy will not end with the departure of Gillani and Zardari from the political scene –
Enough of these delusions of grandeur.Recommend
@Ali: How can you measure someones competitiveness based on his English grammar? And now don’t tell me that “competitiveness” is not a word.
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If he wants to measure how successful he has been, he should visit the poor mans bazaars without any security. He will feel the love of the people in the forms of sticks, stones and flowery expletives. Gillani’s mistake is to think he is working for Zardari whereas the people of Pakistan are paying his salary. Open your eyes Gillani, the people have long memories.
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@Malik: I think you mean someone’s competence. Considering English is the official language of Pakistan and all documents are in English, it should be a necessity for the PM to have above average English skills. If not then everything should be in Urdu and I won’t judge on the basis of English Language skills.
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@Malik: Also afetr posting my comment the headline has also been changed…that speaks volumes itself.
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pretty sure shaukat aziz served a full term as well, no?
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congratulations to the premier. this clearly is a victory for the democratic forces to have kickstarted the downfall of military junta. the present government has done tremendously well in face of grave problems being put in the way of democratic evolution of our polity. i hope that the present goverment will complete its tenure and free, fair and transparent election would be held on due schedule. gud luck premier.
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…….and that is the only thing that you have accomplished but strangely you have not played any role in achieving this landmark too!
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Longest serving PM with no power or real authority!
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@Liberalache:
{I was also hoping he’d be the longest serving prime minister….30 years in solitary confinement is what I had in mind}
I almost fell off the chair laughing. By far the best comment in a lighter vein.
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now we know why we should not have one serving this long!
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Serving whom?
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Sain, Gilani Sahib: For all this time, what do you have to show, besides protecting the interests of the Bhutto and Zardari families? What exactly did you do to improve the lives of the people of Pakistan? You sound like a child who proudly says that he/she has been going to school for four years or so, but who cannot read or write.
Siddique Malik, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
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gilani you survived so far because US is watching…if not then ISI would have fed you to fishes…so exactly what are you proud of……….
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@Liberalache:
Hey dude. Your comment is so frickin’ hilariousl similar to Jon Stewart’s (Daily Show). You sure have a way with words!!!! I can’t stop laughing. Hahah………… I hope the CJ reads it.
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@Siddique Malik:
Well said. Revenge is the best form of democracy except in this case it is directed against the people.
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Eh; forgot the PM of your own party; the famous ZAB to whome you , your party and AZ owe everything yes evrything.You are still living off his name and you forgot that he was PM of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977. More than you —–.
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And also the worst prime minister ever. And given your predecessors that certainly takes some beating. Way to go.
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Dear Pakistanis… Give democracy a chance. You gave military rule 8 years. At least give that much for democracy. It takes time for democracy to reap dividends. I mean we are still not a good enough democracy here in India but we keep trying.
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@Pradeep:
{Dear Pakistanis… Give democracy a chance………..It takes time for democracy to reap dividends}
Very Funny. It takes no time for the dividends of democracy to start flowing to the MNA’s / MPA’s, Ministers and their friends / family and lackeys etc. but the common man is told to wait patiently for the same.
Sorry, I forgot that if the common man is not given a dividend, he sure is issued a Rights Share as per standard corporate practice. That entitles him the right to bask in the glory of democracy and excercise his right to vote in next elections.
Please note , I am not against democracy as a noble cause or in principle. I just have a niggling issue with dividends and rights share in our context.
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@Pradeep:
Great comment. In a Hindu-majority country, the prime minister is a Sikh and the leader of the ruling party — an important party even when it’s not in power — is a foreign-born white Christian woman — and until not long ago, the president was a Muslim who later left office and was succeeded by a grand-motherly woman, not because there was some kind of a conspiracy to oust him but because his constitutional term had run out. And there have been two other Muslim presidents and a Sikh one. I salute India for its commitment to democracy. That’s the reason, a large country of over a billion people of multiple ethnicities, languages and religions, is relatively peaceful, and has become an international economic powerhouse. Surely, India has problems — every place in the world has problems
– but India’s commitment to democracy helps it deal with problems as a strong nation, not a crumbling one. If Pakistan cam mimic its neighbor to the East in upholding democracy, Pakistan’s problems will start to disappear.
Siddique Malik, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
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