Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar. PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE:
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) has offered Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar two positions, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to British or Punjab governor, The Express Tribune has learnt. Sarwar is a British national and former Labour MP from Glasgow.
PML-N sources said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is keen to see Sarwar as high commissioner to the UK while Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif wants to make him Punjab governor due to his loyalty and commitment towards the party.
Sarwar has close relations with Sharif brothers and they had assigned him Faisalabad district to finalise candidates for general election. Sarwar belongs to Rojhana village Pir Mahel district Faisalabad. All his family members are British nationals and they live in UK. His son Anas Sarwar has replaced him as MP.
Top sources in PML-N said that senior leadership urged Sharifs to make Sarwar high commissioner if he so desires since he has good relations with business community in the UK. The leadership maintains that governorship has traditionally remained with south Punjab, sources said.
The PML-N leadership has told the Sharifs that Sarwar will have to relinquish his dual nationality for any of the said positions, sources said.
Federal Information Minister Senator Pervaiz Rashid while talking with The Express Tribune said he had no knowledge about this development. He said that leadership did not discuss this issue before him.
Independent Senator Mohsin Khan Leghari said the Punjab cabinet has very few ministers from South Punjab and appointment of a ‘viceroy’ would create a sense of alienation and deprivation in the area.
He said his whole life Sarwar enjoyed politics in the UK and proposing his name for Punjab governor is beyond reason.
He said that if PML-N wants to end the impression that it has neglected south Punjab it should appoint the new governor from this area.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2013.
COMMENTS (44)
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Regards. our PM Nawaz shareef's the best decision is only one to make governor punjabab.ch.sarwar.its good decision. thanks pm. nadeem advocate high court. 0301-7928287
@Xnain: So you don't see any difference a party and the largest and most powerful province in Pakistan?
@A Pakistani Here is another one from MQM - Nadia Gabool disqualified after few years.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/403448/dual-nationality-sc-suspends-membership-of-mqm-mna-mpa/
@Uza Syed: Again spare me the clutter, just one liner would do. Is it? or is it not?
Mr Sarwar is so passionate to serve the people of the Pakistan. Therefore he quit the nationality and taken the risk to go back where no one is secure and we are having instability and uncertainty. He build up his career with hard work and passion not with corruption and became first Muslim MP in Britain. Despite that he is working on many charity projects in Pakistan. I had the privilege to meet him in few personal gatherings and get the chance to know who real he. In fact he always convince me to leave Britain and serve country. I am so confident of his appointment, sincerity and passion. Surely he will prove himself as ever.
@Xnain: Even if I was to accept your blame, baseless allegation or whatever you wish it to be, I still can't stop laughing at you for your simple mindedness. Madam, is there no difference, you fail to differentiate between a Party and the whole, wide, big, important and almighty province of Punjab, the one and the only wo matters in the wannabe Federation of Pakistan? Is that so? Are you that simple or inflicted by accute malaise called MQM-Phoebia, I recommend you seek and get urgent medical help before this MQM-Phoebia really complete destroys you.
So the loyality and friendship to Sharif Brothers is the main criteria to import a UK national and offer a position of governor in punjab or high commisioner in UK. Nawaz Sharif could not find any suitable person in Pakistan.
@Uza Syed: And this comes from a person whose whole party is remotely and single-handedly operated from London......
Good for Punjab, they deserve it, why not get someone from America to be the CM of Punjab and together these two can pick their cabinet from among the EU States, after all a cabinet of 28 and a couple from Canada should suffice to provide and improvise what Punjab can't locally provide which is corruption free, competent governance. I say why not?!
@Usman: "So it’s loyalty with the party not the person credibility....." . Whoever is chosen for the job should be useful and pliant from Islamabad's point of view. Having links with England is nothing out of the ordinary. Gov Taseer had an English mother. The Black Coats and Ghazi's dislike for him was not exactly based on that.
@Xnain: I agree and that is what i am arguing that how come some Dialect difference can make a total different ethnicity?. The Ethnicity is pretty distinct and it includes culture, traditions and way of living and in my analysis Upper and Lower Punjab does not qualify each other to define one another on total different ethnic lines in any manner. based on so many similarities.
@someone: No! The link is available in Pakistan, I just perused it.
@A Pakistani: What a same!!! Thanks for the link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1491860/Pakistani-politician-got-paid-1000-a-month-in-UK-benefits.html A must read.
@A Pakistani:
He has not been an MP of UK and has not taken oath of Queen to serve her government. There is no comparison.
even wikipedia page about him is now been blocked in Pakistan.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Sarwar
Those having a short memory should also read about the incumbent Governor of Sindh, Dr Ishratul Ebad http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1491860/Pakistani-politician-got-paid-1000-a-month-in-UK-benefits.html who has been availing income support from the Government of UK. Adding fuel to fire, British National Ishratul Ebad is still the Governor since 2002 having weathered the government of the former Dictator and then his NRO-beneficiary. Even the incoming PMLN government has been unable to remove him so far!
Actually we are fond of Imported Stuff.
@Khurram: Punjabi has 12 spoken dialects and often are radically different from each other.
The guy has been approached by Labor Party for the House of Lords membership in UK.So he is not short of any power in UK as comments reflect here. Its Rather PML-N pulling him rather he himself pushing for a post.
@Khalq e Khuda: Last two governors were from Siraiki belt. I think its time for a governor from south western Punjab i.e. Sargodha, Mianwali etc.
@imran bhatt: Integrity?!!? HAHAHAHAHA
Integrity ?!!? HAHAHAHAAHA
Decide for yourself: Musharraf = Shaukat Aziz Nawaz Sharif = Muhammad Sarwar
What difference does it make?!!
Musharraf and Company was trying to induct pro-American stuff into the system, and NO DIFFERENT than before of Musharraf, both Nawaz/Shahbaz and Company are trying to induct pro-UK stuff into the system. When Musharraf came to power American came running here and there and come to Pakistan, and now when Nawaz/Shahbaz come to power, David Cameron PM and Haig the FM comes running to Pakistan. Either way we as Pakistanis are hijacked and held hostage by americans or the british; So, what else is new?????
PMLN is bent on destroying pakistan
So Sharif is following in Zardari's footsteps.
Is it really that hard to find a career-diplomat for an important ambassadorial posting?
Not shocking or strange because Pakistani nation has already faced/seen imported Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in Musharraf's or in other words PML-Q's regime from 2002 to 2007..... Then imported Governor of Punjab's appointment is not new for us......
Mr Sarwar does not have loyalties anywhere except for himself. He left his Pakistani passport to enjoy economic benefits the UK offered and now he relinquished his British passport to enjoy high office that his friends offered him Pakistan. At least Pakistan, as a nation, deserves some sort of integrity.
He would prove to be a very useful High-Commissioner to the UK. Such people who are respected enough are definitely bound to get Pakistan some good faith as well face
@Khurram: dude i ve been trying to explain this all the time but being from non saraiki i dont argue much. dialect changes after few (hundred) kilometers. labnese have hard time to understand yemeni arabic but both are arabic despite a clear difference in race.unfortunately we are more into dividing people than being a collective nation.
It seems PMLN has an acute scarcity of competent people. After 14 years we ended up with the same old names in key positions - Ch Nisar, Kh Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Sartaj Aziz, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and of course the Sharif brothers themselves. Surely the country and the party should have thrown up some new talent in this period?
It seems PMLN has an acute scarcity of competent people. After 14 years we have the same old names in the cabinet - Ch Nisar, Kh Asif, Ahsan Iqbal etc etc.
@Khalq e Khuda Kindly end this talk of Quota and ethnicity. May the best man get this position and that is all that matters. If the above person can bring good governance in Punjab then he should be gladly accepted by everyone rather than making an ethnic issue. Also for your information If you visit Sindh then Sindh minsitries and offices are greatly divided where Quota system have already destroyed everything and Urdu Speaker Secretary usually is answerable to a Sindhi Official whose only qualification most of the time is that he speaks Sindhi but the dont know anything else. Also i live in South Punjab and an avid reader of history and i live in South Punjab but I never heard of Seraiki before 1947 so for me Seraiki does not even come into Ethnicity even though i live in South Punjab but for me Seraiki Ethnicity is a mystery. ??.Is it a different race, totally different culture, totally different language and traditions or what???
Ask any Glaswegian muslim and he will tell you stories about the dubious insurance claims which made Chaudhary Sarwar a millionare. PML(N) could not even get a clean imported politician?
Are there no true Pakistanis for such sensitive positions?
Am I correct to understand that there is no one in Pakistan to take up the Governor's position. . Well I am available??? If someone is listening. . Could I get a chance?
Should it not be a defacto rule that the governor of Punjab has to be from the Seraiki belt to keep sense of deprivation in check? Sindh always has an Urdu speaking governor where as Balochistan has a Pashtun one. I suggest Punjab government to follow suit and have a Seraiki governor.
How can he be on this sensitive post when he has been a UK MP and has taken oath of loyalty to the Queen?
wow
I wonder why I always has this impression that PMLn lack loyal and qualified competent office bearers. I mean they have to import an officer now who has been out of touch with the locals and his main qualification is jis misplaced loyalty to a foreign party. Punjab provide govt officers to whole Pakistan but to run it's own affairs it has to import?
Not shocked... business interests in the UK > business interests in Pakistan
So it's loyalty with the party not the person credibility.. Oh never mind
Ch Sarwar may have looked after the Shariff family, during their forced exile in UK, but this is not a good idea. It is as bad and controversial as the appointment of Wajid Shamsull Hasan, or Hussain Haqqni by PPP government. Are there no Pakistanis available, who have stakes in this country alone. This is not the fiefdom of those given mandate to serve as public servants, not act like Mughal Emperors. Enough damage has been done to Pakistan by Mush and AZ.