Fired?: Minister scotches talk of dismissal, insists he quit

Ghaus Bukhsh Mehar cites alliance with PPP as cause for ‘separating’ from party.

ISLAMABAD:

Federal minister for privatisation Ghaus Bukhsh Mehar was reportedly sacked by Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Friday, but the former claims he has resigned, citing reservations over the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP’s) alliance with Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), to which he belongs.

“The prime minister, in his first order to sack any minister, has removed federal minister for privatisation Ghaus Bukhsh Mehar from the cabinet and de-notified his status,” press secretary and spokesperson for the prime minister Shafqat Jalil told The Express Tribune. Jalil, however, did not give any reasons for the decision.

The former minister, however, begs to differ. “I was not removed from the federal cabinet by the prime minister. I had already submitted my resignation to my party’s chief, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, on October 31,” said Mehar, adding that “the party’s leadership was informed of my differences with the ruling setup in Sindh over many issues, including the local government ordinance, several times.”

Mehar was elected from Sindh on a PML-Q ticket and was appointed as the privatisation minister during the tenure of former premier Yousaf Raza Gilani. Although no longer part of cabinet, the minister still retains his position as president of PML-Q’s Sindh chapter.

Mehar later mentioned November 21 as the date on which he submitted his resignation while talking to a news channel. The minister’s ‘differences’ over the alliance had lead him to get in touch with PML-N and PML-F, say close aides.

Off the record

A PML-Q party official said, “Mehar’s removal was recommended by PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. The minister was served a show cause notice by the party a week ago to which he did not respond. This non-seriousness called for his sacking.”



The official revealed a list of Mehar differences with the PPP: disagreements over a Sukkur land dispute with federal minister Khursheed Ahmed Shah, Shikarpur constituency discords with provincial minister Agha Siraj Durrani and a clash over Sindh job quotas. All issues, said the official, had been mediated with the party leadership’s intervention in an effort to secure the coalition in Sindh.

Reconciliation

The sacked minister was repeatedly asked by the PML-Q leadership to avoid antagonism with the ruling party, but he paid little heed, said the official. “Having wrangles with everyone is not politically wise,” the official quoted the party chief.

“Losing politicians like Ghaus Bukhsh Mehar in Sindh will bring great damage to the party leadership, particularly right before elections. PML-Q will face a vacuum after Mehar,” he added.

Talking about the reconciliation efforts on both sides, he said that PML-Q senator Mushahid Hussain Syed was trying to allay differences between Mehar and the party leadership, so that the former could remain a part of PML-Q despite the dissolution of his cabinet office.

Earlier, Mehar’s son, Sheheryar Mehar, who was also elected on a PML-Q ticket to the Sindh Assembly, openly expressed his differences with the PPP. Sheheryar had also resigned from his portfolios of environment and energy in the Sindh cabinet, and now sits in the opposition while supporting the PML-F.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 24^th, 2012.