I admit that when he took oath, I was just as dismissive as anyone else. I thought he was another one of the pack — corrupt, incompetent and disloyal. And, on top of that, he seemed compliant.
And now, when the honourable Supreme Court has called him “dishonest”, I stand up and say that he is the prime minister and that he should not stand for this kind of treatment.
There is speculation that he will resign. Political uncertainty is such that between the time I take to write this and this comes into print, he may not be the prime minister. Who knows? And who cares?
After all, who cares that the world’s number one terrorist Osama bin Laden was in our midst for years, living a stone’s throw from the Pakistan Military Academy, where Army Chief General Kayani delivered a speech to graduating cadets weeks before Bin Laden was killed? Who cares that hundreds of terrorists who have killed and maimed thousands of Pakistanis are roaming free on the soil of this country? Who cares that another country, which calls itself our strategic partner in a long-drawn-out war that we’re losing, regularly kills our fellow countrymen, women and children in the tribal areas? And then some days, that same country kills our soldiers, too. Who cares?
Perhaps the honourable Chief Justice does. He who is correctly demanding that letters be written to the Swiss authorities and the money of the people is brought back to them. He who has held the prime minister responsible for failing to keep his oath but appears not to notice when the army and intelligence chiefs fail this country. He who takes suo motu notice over an individual carrying two bottles of alcohol in her travel bags but failed to do the same when Bin Laden was found and killed by foreign forces comfortably ensconced inside our territory, or when terrorists stormed the Pakistan Army’s headquarters in plain sight, or when American drones kill our own in our own backyard, or when hundreds go missing — and turn up dead — in Balochistan.
It took Prime Minister Gilani some time to find his voice. But now that he has, I stand by him. I do not know whether or not he will resign, but I know this that he does not need to until those whose job it is to secure Pakistan step down for failing to arrest the pervasive insecurity in this country; and until those whose job it is to be impartial conduct themselves in a manner that respects their oath.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 18th, 2012.
COMMENTS (120)
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Disappointed...
Awesome article Zainab....I AM PROUD OF OUR PM ! He is one of the best in the history of Pakistan.
What are you proud of? The PM being dishonest or him not taking his constitutional responsibility of putting MoD in order? He has taken corruption and nepotism to unmatched levels in Pakistan and yet we are proud because he stood against a judiciary which is working to establish some sort of justice in this society.
What a disappointment!
@ Malik. Complete disagree with you sir. We can argue about the title, heading of the article but the contents are just perfect. Only one line to your's arguments and in my ANC author's defense. It's not just the politicians who're responsible for the ills of this society - judiciary (w their biased and polically charged decisions), army (w political ambitions), bureaucracy (w lack of decision making) and media (w biased views and changing positions for wrong reasons) are all equally, if not more, responsible. This is sad but true.....
@Colonel: Colonel you do not sound like a colonel. I agree with each and every view point of yours. Yes give democracy a chance to find its true place in the history of Pakistan.
@vaqar: I am sure you are proud because in Pakistan it is customary that every one who does some thing that he is not supposed to do is appreciated and applauded.The army is appreciated for laying down country's foreign policy, actively participating in all sort of political activities, running multiple profitable business ventures, deciding which where and what battles it should fight without the knowledge of it's civilian bosses who are directly responsible to people of the country. And now the judiciary for " which is fighting for the common man on all fronts." A job that is assigned to the government as per your constitution.
@Mirza: [They all know this case has been over long ago. Now its statue of limitation (time) has also run out]
So whats stopping you to support letter writing? Is it worth invoking SC's wrath for a dead / harmless case.
Zainab, The order which you are referring to throughout the article wasn't passed by the Chief Justice. It was passed by Justice Khosa. Please verify facts first. Thanks Gulfam
No, I am not unless we get the GAS, Electricity and Water to enable good living of thousands of People sitting idle due to closure of Industries.
Dear Prime Minister Everything in my country is WORSE compared to the time when you took charge in office. I am NOT proud of you.
Mr. Gilani was cornered to respect SC, Actual SC orders are on its way for implementations, no body no matter how big can not escape from SC now, not Zardari, not Gilani, not Musharraff.
I am flabbergasted to read someone literate in her right mind can praise Mr. Gilani for what he has done to our country over past 4 years. I fail to fathom as what on earth inspired Ms. Imam to say she is proud of PM, whereby under his "great" leadership the country is on the brink of economic collapse and governance is at its worst.
I am embarrassed to have Mr. Gilani as our country's Prime Minister, who in my humble opinion (given his "enormous wisdom, intellect & integrity") would not be able to get a job of a junior manager in any private company. However thanks to our national political scene, he is "honorable PM" of this country. Allah ki shaan hay.
If Ms. Imam can not see, then perhaps she is living abroad.
I too stand by him.Besides women its him who got guts to say that civilian supremacy will stay.
Agree with you completely. Judiciary should not get involved in governance. It is against democratic foundation. This involvement by the judiciary is nothing more than for rvenge and publicity.
He may or may not be corrupt, but it is not the judiciary purview to decide. Governance from the courts doesn't work, never has worked and never will work.
Just because the military did not do its job properly does not in ANY way exonerate PM of his incompetence. Two wrongs do not make a right. I think you just found out about the rules of the civil military engagement which you want to exhibit through this op-ed, but the issue is a little more complicated than Gilani finally defending himself shamelessly.
Is this the same Prime Minister you are are proud of who came on TV at 11:30 PM to announce the extensions of Gem. Pasha & Kayani??? How you can justify his ill intended stance against judiciary and military??? we are not naive kids who do not understand the political circus show being put on the stage of pakistan politics.........No body can favour Military rules in Pakistan but please do not confuse yourself by naming gimmics as courage
I just have a question for all Pakistanis that what is your opinion about release of Remond Devis.Are not we all responsible for that?????We just like to criticise others and do not like to bring a single change in ourselves.We do not know to respect our leaders,then how we expect them to be sincere with us.That day will be a revolution day in Pakistan when I will change myself.
@G. Hussain Soomro: Have you ever heard of judicial review and article 190 which says that All executive and judicial authorities through out Pakistan shall act in aid of the Supreme Court.
@Aliya: and the people mandate is not to crush them and enjoy themselves, what do u think the people mandate is for what purpose?
After reading the article I am getting a notion that the writer is trying hardly to say that CJ has to conduct all matters of this country. He is the one who is going to protect its red lines, institutions, interests of common man etc etc.
I wonder at the logic of emotions which in almost all cases becomes illogical and without any material arguments and evidence, which acutely is the case of Ms. Zainab's defence of her pride (PM) whose corrupt rule has inflicted miseries on us Pakistanis, although there is no denying the fact that PM is only Chief Executive (CE) in name as all the strategic decisions were made by the president and our PM was not consulted but used to be informed later. How the PM being the CE by using shamelessly delaying tactics created obstacles in FIA investigations against Moonis Elahi just to save their govt. I am sorry madam we commoners can not take pride in an immoral and corrupt CE. If army Generals are incompetent or colluded with OBL, why they were not removed. Infact CE gave extensions to them and until recently were proud of their services. We all know that who is calling the shots using PM, and you can only pity such a person.
Brilliant argument against political hypocrisy. Wish I could write like that.
People are also corrupt therefore they support corrupt politicians. Does democratic system allows anyone to do corruption and easily get away with it (with no accountability)? This is not a democracy.
Gilani is our hero. period
Thanks madam for standing up with P.M. But I think eventually P.M. would have to step down, not those responsible for providing secure heaven to Asama bin Laden, or failing to arrest widely spread insecurity in country. Only P.M. is responsible to respect his oath, all others not.
our dear president zardari claimed at a recent tv interview that if you look at pakistan from my (zardari) eyes, there is nothing at all wrong with the country. i guess you are looking at pakistan from our president's eyes. good luck!
Good To See This Perspective Come Up, Hopefully someone will write about the President also. Sometimes, One Right Can Diminish Many Wrongs .....
The problem is we always have reservation over present , compare it with past and in future we will again have reservation over previous present.....
it is good to read alot of journalists taking a balanced view of affairs!!
The armed forces and the Government cannot be blamed when the armed terrorists are fighting there to break Pakistan into pieces! they first need to lay down their arms before any negotiations can begin!
If Gillani survives after exposing the army for what it is, though an otherwise unlikely candidate, he will be the greatest PM to have ever served the country.
@ vaqar-UK, living in UK really does give you the right to belittle Pakistan's army men and the constitution, right??
Striked at the right time Zainab ...
I am waiitng for the time, when Mr Prime Minister will find his voice for the nuisance felt by common man !!!
Our all supports are with the honorable PM but he also try to reduce public worries instead increasing them day by day.
love you gillani- jiyay bhutto
So that's how ET presents a 'balanced' viewpoint. Not only the article but even the comments are 'balanced'. Wow...Now I have started to understand the commercial aspects of journalism
I totally agree.Even our honourable CJ did not take notice of release of Remond Devis.I think that there can not be any more solid example of dual behaviour of all of us.
very well said..
I was really depressed about gillani being called to court and the general apathy towards it. this piece made me feel MUCH better. thank you so much zainab. wish there were more of us who could see the injustice.
I totally agree with you on this...the author says it wonderfully...Let democracy be ...A supreme court who has always played in the hands of the establishment cannot silence the people.This is the people's mandate
Thanks a lot Miss Imam..........I was feeling very dejected and frustrated because my mobile and cash was snatched on Gun poin in broad day light few yards away from the alert mobile of Police.. Your article has completely changed my mood and I am still laughing. If you see name whom you can support please refer to list of 44 persons issued by NAB.
I am proud of my primeminister for his dedication and utmost committment. His rule has led us to a path of peace, harmony and prosperity. Look at our growing economy, decreasing poverty levels and increasing employment. Look at the enormous respect we have in the global world and our institutions have indeed strengthened. Money is pouring into the country and industrialization is at its peak. Abundance of electricity, gas and water. It is indeed under our prime minister that we are ranked "lowest" in corruption and "highest" in Human Development.
Well said Ms Zainab ... we are indeed proud of our prime minister !
is the SC responsible for everything...I mean ti make everything right...then what is the purpose of having a government or a Prime Minister...totally lame article
Anyone can feel proud of anyone with or without reasonable justification. Can't agree with the writer anymore!
W@e Love PM Gillani!!!!!!
@Sikander: Pity, that PM's achievement is failure of army! One can only laugh on this logic!
sad article !
@Hamood: I understand your frustrations. "Incompetent executive branch" is not the problem of judiciary. It is the problem of PAK people to handle in next elections and opposition parties.
The NRO was suggested by US to get the exiled political class of PAK back into the country to begin the democratic transition. It is not a bad suggestions and countries which had a bad past blood used that effectively to move on. Ie: S.Africa, Nigeria, and others.
Unfortunately, NRO became the casualty of local politics.
4 years to find his voice....funny!
@Falcon: Where are the angels. In the army or ISI.
@Parvez: Refute by logic!
@Sikander: Yah why not. Was there any case by the SC for conitnuous failure and misdeeds of the army and the ISI.
@Abdul Rafeh Iqbal: The other was not caught! Other is immune from being caught and brought to book and be disciplined. It can commit daylight murder and not a word would be said. The same Ijaz on whose words Haqqani is being crucified had said that Pasha went around the Arab world to get consent for deposing this government. That is called sedition. What the CJP is doing about that.
Bold, bitter, honest and rational....I stand by you and our Prime Minister.
Attagirl! I find this to be refreshingly clear-sighted and brave. You and I know that many people will pound on you for taking the stand that you have taken. Don't let them distract you from your views or your voice. Bravo!
agree - the Supreme Court seems to be scared of the Army, but leaves no opportunity to beat on it's chest when it comes to Civilians...
I do not believe the PM has found his voice.It is still,rather more so,his master's voice.
@John B, This elected govt had four years to correct the mess they inherited (according to you) but they increased this mess ten folds.
I find it strange that people do not understand what the issue is about. This article and some others i have read totally miss the point, and a lot of the comments did too.
The question is simple. 1. The supreme court passed a judgment. 2. As prime minister (or a law abiding citizen for that matter) he is legally obliged to follow law. Just as we are expected to obey laws. 3. Since he broke the law he is a criminal. 4. The talk about him delivering, or providing good governance, or any other persons having failed in their job is irrelevant!
@Colonel
Being a Colonel you must be fully qualified to talk about the constitution!!!!!
Fantabulous tribute to Gilani Saheb!
ZI, great op ed. I am proud of you, PM and Pakistan as it moves forward. After OBL's death the duo of Kayani and Pasha only offered to resign but not resigned. No general in the history of Pakistan gracefully resigned even after surrender in E. Pakistan, Kargil, Mehran Base, GHQ attack or having caught with OBL. Kudos to PM for coming out like he is supposed to. The PCO SC has made writing to Swiss govt an honor point to rub the nose of elected govt. They all know this case has been over long ago. Now its statue of limitation (time) has also run out.
@Muniruddin Khan (Chitrali): Looks like you have the Alladin's magic Chiragh, The Jinn in it told you so much. Get yourself a functioning brain man
Excellent Zainab, you have defied the socalled wisdom of our worn out journos who are forming public opinion. It's a powerful piece in its own right. This si also the youth of Pakistan and should be heard.
absolutely loved the piece and cannot agree more.
I wish the people in our country were not this ignorant and did not believe the fake hype being created. The real people that should be questioned is the military who have screwed our history and now are trying to screw our future. They cant protect us from external forces as they are too busy in toppling governments and looking at their own benefits and perks.
Im with the blogger, As long as Mr.PM has a voice against the ills of Army in Pakistan I stand by him too.
What we have right now is a Dictator in the form of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, i do not support the government and wholly condemn it in lack of administrative capabilities, but it is an elected body which will soon be voted out. While an un-elected person sitting in a powerful position, listening to everything that the elder Mr. Sharif feeds him is hellbent on becoming the only SOVEREIGN in the country.
Ever heard of Seperation of Powers Mr.CJP
err...u mite experience a decline in ur twitter followers now :)
I have nothing to say after reading the article and comments except the responses (comments) on the this article idicate the awareness of my nation and that is a positive development.
Kudos! excellently presented. shows that the author has some real perspective of how things work in our country. sadly most of the opposition comes from the people bred on propaganda channels. indeed it is a very bold stand by the pm. for the very first time he has tried to put things the way they should be. civilian authority over the military. yes pakistan has its problems, but that does not justify giving military a superior position. if you have problems at your home, the CHOWKIDAR does not take over and say 'sahab aap ghar sahi nai chala rahey ho, hum ghar chalaega'. military needs to stay where it should. IN THE BARRACKS. for gods sake learn from india. haryana's CM rejected the the army chiefs request for a corner plot. we shower our soldiers with the most posh housing societies and expect our elected pm to act as a boot-licker of the army. this is how low we have stooped as a nation
Despite all the incompetence and spineless decisions, the present government tried very best among the chaos of pakistan it has inherited. No one in Pakistan expected that B. Bhutto would be assassinated, suicide bombers would roam free wrecking the country, sectarian violence, target killing, Raymond Davis, Abottabad, Drone strikes, Asia Bibi and all that followed. Of course, the flood.
To passify the political parties to maintain some rule, the present government failed to take a stand on certain key issues: Tax reform and suggestions proposed by the SBP and IMF. All that pak sees on economic front is a slow percolation of events transpired before the present government, and of course men on the streets do not understand that. Similarly soon after the Abottabad the government should have "reorganized" the establishment, come what may. But missed the opportunity.
NRO could have been used properly by the PAK, but again the present government failed to muster support in NA for reasons unknown. And the decisions by the SC is well timed, as always.
PAK people will thank the government in the future for paving a way for free and fair electoral system, normalization of relationship with India amidst all odds, and saving a sinking ship.
Mr. Gilani should never reign. He should face the SC and tell them "thank you for your opinion on NRO but the executive decision of its implementation belongs to my office and my office does not come under court jurisdiction but it is under parliament and it is upto the parliament to decide whether to fire me, hold me in contempt or keep me until the people decide in the next decision." This would be his greatest achievement and legacy he will leave behind to PAK and to his office.
If courts start interfering in management of executive office's affairs, PAK PM can never sign a treaty, discuss a possibility of treaty, or manage affairs of the country with changing political dynamics. implementation of courts ruling comes under the jurisdiction of executive office, either in NRO or in all other cases.
What would the court say, if the president pardons the condemned individual and delays the execution ordered by the court as he or she sees fit. Hold him or her in contempt?
NRO implementation is no different. No courts has a jurisdiction in the management of affairs of executive branch. Delay in implementing NRO is no different from delay or failure in implementing the electoral promise, or a sanctioned project.
100% agree with you mam.
Please spare us this talk. Poor application of logic. Who cares when the PM was trying to protect the perpetrators of NICL, Hajj, rental power scandals? Who cares when thousnads of visas were issued without following the protocols? When he and his henchmen make a mockery of judiciary? There is a time to set things right and I think that we are at that juncture of history. Every step will count now. I agree that not everything that supreme court is doing is right but this should not lead us to call right steps wrong. This rhetroic has to stop. The fact that PM is elected does not make him immune from being accountable and this obviously does not make him an honest man. one does make noise when the noose is tightened around one's neck. This PM can make us anything but proud!!!!!
Funniest article till date. Please do come down to his home city of Multan to find out how knee deep in corruption is your great PM.
Looks like Shareef Brothers are completely guaranteed Immunity over scams,scandals and corruption chargers by th SC, but they dont wana admit that President has got immunity by the Geneva Convention
Miss Imam very well said it Bravo shabash.
@Colonel: Because its there job. If the president has immunity its between him and the international courts. If he wants immunity from our courts he better claim it or he ain't getting it. Everyone who violates the law is answerable to the court. No matter if that is PM or president.
@ Chitrali brother -
By your comments it seems as if you were part of the marines and as if you had seen OBL being dropped there :-)
@Sikander: sir u better read the constitution PM is only answerable to parliament no to the people who are appointed by him
Agreed 100% and me too, I support you now Mr.PM.
Sorry, can not agree with you. Your logic and conclusions are flawed.
@Sikander: Then Why SC is pressing Gov. to write letter even they know that he has got Immunity under Geneva Convention??
Dear Mam, I do agree with you that the Americans have got OBL by penetrating well inside into our country. I also agree with you that our so-called ally in the war against terror is killing our citizens by drone strikes and at times our soldiers fall prey to the attacks by these forces as well. I do agree with you that people are being killed in Baluchistan without any fear. I do agree with you that the honorable Chief Justice takes sou motto notice on even some individuals as well. But have you not seen the Abbottabad Commission doing inquiries under a senior judge. Under whose instructions, this commission was formed? You talked about the drone attacks! So my dear sister, these attacks are taking place with the due consent of your dear Prime Minister and his government. We have seen time and again that Pakistan Air Force Chief claiming to take these drones down if the government allows, but there has been no response to such statement. The Baluchistan killings are also a matter of concern, which has been highlighted by the CJ many a times but then again, the responsibility to ensure peace is the responsibility of government, which is being headed by your dear PM. The PM said that i will go to the Supreme court in its honor. I want to ask his highness that, where was this respect when they issued the orders to write a letter to the Swiss. These people are not loyal to this country and the nation. I couldn't stop laughing when PM was saying in the Parliament that We are the noble breed. You should protect us, as people like us are vanishing who have loyalty. The nation is dying as they are not getting the basic necessities of life and they are claiming to be loyal to the country. If you agree with all this and think that these facts are not true, i also feel proud to have him as our PM.
@Colonel: Sir, Anyone who breaks the law is answerable to supreme court whether that is the common man or the prime minister. and supreme court is no servant of the parliament or prime minister just because he was the appointing authority
@Colonel: If they have immunity then why didn't the government write the letter in the first place? Why go around in circles for so long?
Honest and good thoughts... Good idea as well but very poorly expressed and executed. I too am proud of my PM for things that have happened over the past couple of weeks. This just sounds a bit immature. You're on the right track tho :)
The author has tried to held responsible the present army chief responsible for harboring the USA no 1 enemy, in the Abbotabad. This is the USA rhetoric, that Osam was residing near to the Pak army training college but actually the dead body of the said Osama was brought there by the USA commandos, and even the said body was not shown to any one because the dead body was disfigured and ruined due to laps of considerable time of expiry. The Pak army is not controlled, administer or controlled by the Supreme Court or by the chief Justice, therefor the present chief Justice should not be held responsible for the act, or negligence of the army.
Bravo PM.
Army failed so the Prime Minister's failure is justified.. That is you logic. Bravo!
strange Things happend all over the world dont worry be happy acoona matata maam imam.
Great job ET! One of these days someone will be proud of Zardari too and I am sure ET will be the voice of truth in that scenario too..
@vaqar: Thats separate Issue, if the Current Gov is unable to perform it doesnt mean SC should become in-charge of everything, remember the Difference between being appointed and elected, these Judges are appointed not elected and the Prime Minister is only answerable to Parliament not to Judiciary which is appointed by him, Constitution States that Gov. should complete its 5 Year term.
This is stupid... Who cares??? we all care... every step towards democracy counts and if the CJ is taking steps in regards to NRO and Memogate... we as Pakistanis, we need to be thankful and proud of our CJ and judiciary, before we go on praising our corrupt Prime Minister.
I am not sure whether he "found his voice", or the "noose tightening around his neck" is forcing him to hear the noises around.
Having said that, however, I think the judiciary is making a mockery of justice by selective application, the evident purpose being a regime change.
There is no doubt that some holier than thou institutions continue to play with the integrity and honour of this country, with complete impunity, by failing to safeguard us against foreign and domestic terrorism.
The realpolitik in Pakistan has changed and the boots and robes need to open their eyes before it is too late.
A brave article.
Well said, Supreme Court knows that President has immunity under Geneva Convention but i do not understand why Judiciary is pressing Gov. to write letter to Swiss Authorities, what do u call it insanity or......?? I would rather say Supreme Court is making itself a Political force.
poor poor logic.
Pity to see, that one crime is being justified because another was not caught... logical fallacy has proven to be another of this country's dilemma now, where we justify our actions because others are not brought to justice. It rules out the matter of professional integrity which we are to inculcate in ourselves by ourselves, albeit it quickly eradicates itself from our personality but then again we do have weak principles in the end...
you would rather write to the people of this magazine that either all should be brought upon justice or no one for that matter?
lov'd the article !
dear Writer you said it and said very well. I am proud of my PM.
Lame
Are you for real? Where is your Prime Minister's voice on the miseries of poor of this country? Where is your PM's voice on the billions lost on Railway, PIA and other public institutions? Where is your PM's voice on the blood shed in Karachi?
Only when the elections are near, he is standing up to the supreme court to become a political martyr and cry foul in their next elections campaign. After all, they dont have anything else to attract attention.
But please, go ahead and vote for PPP. You deserve it!
Me too !