Anxiously scanning the 24/7 channels, they wanted to find out as to how the Supreme Court would react to another prime minister’s visible reluctance for writing a letter to the Swiss government to locate millions that Asif Ali Zardari is alleged to have parked in that country.
In this season of perennial doom and gloom, Raja Pervez Ashraf appears to be the one and only who continues to act as if driven and task oriented. For another day, he presided over an exhaustive meeting at his office to find means for reducing long hours of load shedding. During the same meeting he developed suspicions that although the ministers of power and petroleum sincerely wanted to help him achieve the target, there indeed were some bureaucrats who felt not too motivated.
With the reported intent of seeking approval for rolling heads in the same context, he went to the presidency at around 2:00 pm for a two-hour one-on-one huddle with Zardari. Then, he returned to his office to watch the breaking news that came from the Supreme Court without anyone sitting around him.
After ejecting Gilani from the prime minister’s office for not writing a letter to the Swiss government, the Supreme Court is not expected to treat Ashraf in a different manner on the same issue. Leniency towards the Raja from Gujjar Khan would rather furnish substance to Gilani’s story that he had been “punished,” not for disobeying the Supreme Court but for demanding a separate province for the Seraiki-speaking people. As a street-hardened activist, Prime Minister Ashraf fully fathoms the obvious.
No wonder, very cunningly he is trying to build the case that he cannot decide over the question of writing a letter to the Swiss government in his personal capacity. He rather plans to convey the ‘collective decision of the cabinet’ on July 25 to the Supreme Court on this thorny matter. How will he reach there? I have no answer to this question. Suffice for the moment is to report that even some old PPP loyalists have seriously started wondering whether everyone would stay on board with Raja Ashraf, when it comes to communicating a reply to the Supreme Court that each member of the federal cabinet ‘owns’ in apparently a suicidal manner.
Since the sacking of Gilani the government seems miserably dysfunctional anyway. Vital decisions on crucial issues are being deferred and postponed. Take the issue of restoring the NATO supplies to Afghanistan via Pakistani routes, for example. The government of Pakistan announced restoration of these supplies more than a week ago. Yet, until my writing this column only four containers had entered Afghanistan.
The accumulated cargo needing not less than 1,500 containers could just not be moved due to demurrage-connected complications. These complications were supposed to be addressed by an inter-ministerial committee. The committee concerned could not meet, however, for both the finance minister and the foreign minister were not present in the country. Dr Sheikh had gone to Europe for vacationing with his family; Ms Khar is visiting Far East. Ms Rehman, Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington, meanwhile, had been enduring anxiety cramps over the growing hostility in the US Congress.
From July 20, some members of the US House of Representatives will start orchestrating Pakistan-bashing over the issue of Dr Shakeel Afridi’s arrest and subsequent conviction, visibly for helping the CIA locate Osama and eventually get him killed through a midnight raid on his compound in Abbottabad.
The smooth flow of NATO cargo to Afghanistan via Pakistani routes could help reduce the intensity of the intended campaign. But no one was apparently pushed in Islamabad and Ambassador Rehman had to take a plane to Pakistan. Her being around didn’t seem helping due to the absence of ministers of finance and foreign affairs. In the end, Prime Minister Ashraf had to deliver on this count as well. From highly reliable sources, this correspondent found out that during his farewell call on Pakistan’s prime minister the other day, Ambassador Munter referred to demurrage-connected complications. After his leaving, the prime minister decided to sign a summary to sanction waiver on accumulated demurrage in his discretion to facilitate the moving of 1,582 containers to Afghanistan. Raja Pervez Ashraf is really very lonely these days.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 13th, 2012.
COMMENTS (10)
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@Khalid Pathan:
You are absolutely right.
@Tufan Agha:
Dear Mr. Tufan
You must consider the existing situation of Pakistan. What the judiciary has done in recent years, they have never done so. I think, if you say if judicial martial law, then you are absolutely wrong.
The present democratic government in Pakistan has successfully achieved the objective of defending their party and Pakistan president from his conviction in the Swiss Court of money laundering. Judicial activism is not bad if applied equally on the second party as well i.e, the family of Shareef. Prime minister and all the ministers are loyal to Mr. Zardari and not to the country they have taken Oath to serve and defend.
Prime minister Gelani gone court convicted him. Parliament elected new prime minister,who received the same order.
On the other hand, lawmakers passed a new law,according to which,prime minister and ministers can not be prosecuted until unless they are on the post. In this way a safety has been gifted to prime minister by the Parliament who is a law making authority under the constitution.
Despite of this act,the bench consisting on five judges of the apex court issued order to the prime minister regarding writing the letter to the Swiss authority.
In this way, a new war has begun,institutions,political leaders judiciary and executive has come into the arena and stand face to face.
Any one, who has interest in politics or country 's affairs can say without ant reluctance , rainy days ahead,country already fragile will pass a new test.
@Polpot: will he be sentenced to rising of the court or will the judges decdie that his actions were malicious enough to deserve a spell in Adiala
Despite the fact that since 2008 we have perhaps the most corrupt and incompetent regimes all ovr Pakistan in power, their corruption needs no elaboration as mostly it is self explanatory. I wish to ask a modest question from The Judiciary: If terrorists were released by your courts apparently on the pretext that there's no evidence against them and since then the law and order situation of the country is also before everyone, then how are you so passionately insisting every PM to write a letter to Swiss Authorities against an "Alleged" corruption value acquired by Mr. Zardari? Previous Governments locked up this fellow for almost 11 years in various jails of the country but could not prove his corruption and eventually he became our President. So finally, the suspicion is becoming rife, that people have now openly started talking about that present judiciary is Pro ML-N and CJ is The Saifurrehman of this era! So let "The Azad Adliya" write this letter themselves with 'Golden Ink'
Judicial Martial Law is worse than Military Martial Law. At least military takes care of many problems. Judicial Martial Law has disfigured the constitution and made Parliment and the voice of the people as a secondary business. Above all, they can do nothing other than making tall statements. They cannot even look after their own selves. Their Power base is the government. They are cutting the branch on which they are sitting. Today Judiciary has made Rule of Law which means "BECAUSE I SAID SO."
"Raja Pervez Ashraf is really very lonely these days." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Wait for 25th July and he would be lonelier.
Consider in the backdrop that several parties are holding protest against the supply route. Then it is understandable why there is such a delay
It's the same dance as before. In fact, the pm is only interested in opening supplies, but is facing very high domestic opposition