The new doctor on the block
With talks of Dr Shaikh coming back as interim PM, rumours run rife about who will be part of the caretaker set up.
The writer is Editor of The Express Tribune
So what if Dr Hafeez Shaikh has left the party. Our prime minister is also a doctor now, albeit an honorary one, with a PhD. being conferred on him by Sindh University. This follows the PhD. that was awarded to “Dr” Rehman Malik in 2011 by the University of Karachi in recognition for his work towards peace building.
With some saying that Dr Shaikh will come back as interim PM, Islamabad is now rife with rumours about who will be part of the caretaker set up. What is for certain is that the caretaker PM will not be Asma Jahangir. While a good choice, Asma Jahangir would have left when her mandate was over. This may have been the reason why she was not chosen in the first place.
Coming back to Dr Hafeez Shaikh, his exit has also allowed some to move ahead with a number of decisions which otherwise would not have gone through. For starters, the government pleased the textile lobby by moving the captive power industry up the priority list for gas allocation, contradicting an earlier decision of the federal cabinet which had made perfect economic sense. The new one makes better political sense.
In this instance, the federal cabinet had earlier given first priority to domestic and commercial sectors. The power sector had been accorded second priority, followed by general industries at third and captive power plants and the cement sector at fourth priority. The CNG sector was accorded the last place on the priority list. Now we are told that captive power plants had “erroneously” been placed at the second last position in the minutes of the cabinet meeting.
The government has also cleared two projects, valued at Rs9.4 billion, for the PM’s constituency. This decision comes despite a ban imposed by the Election Commission of Pakistan on the use of taxpayer money for political gains.
The absence of Central Development Working Party (CDWP) chairman Dr Nadeem ul Haque, who also happens to be the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, did not stop the government from summoning a meeting of the party and approving 15 schemes worth a total of Rs22.3 billion.
In his capacity as chairman of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet, newly appointed Finance Minister Saleem Mandviwala took decisions that went against earlier decisions of the federal cabinet. Is this cause for concern?
Some suggest that the stage is being set for influential lobbies to take advantage of the fluid situation. Many more such decisions are expected to come before the government completes its term. The next ECC meeting takes place on Tuesday. The haste with which meetings of the country’s top economic decision making body are being held makes one wonder.
While these decisions defy logic, what does make more sense is the break up between the MQM and the PPP ahead of the elections. By doing so, after spending five years together, the two parties can now focus on their vote bank. By reviving the Zia-era local bodies system in Sindh, the PPP can now look its voters in the eye and say that they have not sold out to the MQM, as some nationalist parties claim. In all probability, the two parties will once again get together after the elections and renegotiate their alliance based on their performance at the polls.
And elections will take place. If there were some who believed that this is a good time for the army to push for a delay, their hopes were dashed when the spokesman for the military categorically stated that the democratic system had the institution’s blessings and that it “looked forward to timely polls.”
This is an important message that comes at a time when many are pushing for delay. It also comes at a time when the Chief Election Commission is asserting the independence and impartiality of the ECP.
But these are times of change. Within a short span of time, we are seeing four governors being changed or about to be changed. Given that in the caretaker set up, the office of the Governor becomes more important, this is significant. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 25th, 2013.
With some saying that Dr Shaikh will come back as interim PM, Islamabad is now rife with rumours about who will be part of the caretaker set up. What is for certain is that the caretaker PM will not be Asma Jahangir. While a good choice, Asma Jahangir would have left when her mandate was over. This may have been the reason why she was not chosen in the first place.
Coming back to Dr Hafeez Shaikh, his exit has also allowed some to move ahead with a number of decisions which otherwise would not have gone through. For starters, the government pleased the textile lobby by moving the captive power industry up the priority list for gas allocation, contradicting an earlier decision of the federal cabinet which had made perfect economic sense. The new one makes better political sense.
In this instance, the federal cabinet had earlier given first priority to domestic and commercial sectors. The power sector had been accorded second priority, followed by general industries at third and captive power plants and the cement sector at fourth priority. The CNG sector was accorded the last place on the priority list. Now we are told that captive power plants had “erroneously” been placed at the second last position in the minutes of the cabinet meeting.
The government has also cleared two projects, valued at Rs9.4 billion, for the PM’s constituency. This decision comes despite a ban imposed by the Election Commission of Pakistan on the use of taxpayer money for political gains.
The absence of Central Development Working Party (CDWP) chairman Dr Nadeem ul Haque, who also happens to be the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, did not stop the government from summoning a meeting of the party and approving 15 schemes worth a total of Rs22.3 billion.
In his capacity as chairman of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet, newly appointed Finance Minister Saleem Mandviwala took decisions that went against earlier decisions of the federal cabinet. Is this cause for concern?
Some suggest that the stage is being set for influential lobbies to take advantage of the fluid situation. Many more such decisions are expected to come before the government completes its term. The next ECC meeting takes place on Tuesday. The haste with which meetings of the country’s top economic decision making body are being held makes one wonder.
While these decisions defy logic, what does make more sense is the break up between the MQM and the PPP ahead of the elections. By doing so, after spending five years together, the two parties can now focus on their vote bank. By reviving the Zia-era local bodies system in Sindh, the PPP can now look its voters in the eye and say that they have not sold out to the MQM, as some nationalist parties claim. In all probability, the two parties will once again get together after the elections and renegotiate their alliance based on their performance at the polls.
And elections will take place. If there were some who believed that this is a good time for the army to push for a delay, their hopes were dashed when the spokesman for the military categorically stated that the democratic system had the institution’s blessings and that it “looked forward to timely polls.”
This is an important message that comes at a time when many are pushing for delay. It also comes at a time when the Chief Election Commission is asserting the independence and impartiality of the ECP.
But these are times of change. Within a short span of time, we are seeing four governors being changed or about to be changed. Given that in the caretaker set up, the office of the Governor becomes more important, this is significant. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 25th, 2013.