Pakistan

Hajj scam: Zardari stops PM from sacking Kazmi

Zardari says such a move may have an adverse impact on the Hajj corruption case.

Rauf Klasra December 13, 2010

ISLAMABAD: President Zardari has turned down a proposal by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to sack religious affairs minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi from the federal cabinet saying that such a move may have an adverse impact on the Hajj corruption case. The PM had proposed that Kazmi be asked to leave in the same manner as defence production minister Abdul Qayyum Jatoi was removed following controversial remarks that minister made in Quetta.

The Zardari snub came when Prime Minister Gilani called the president after Supreme Court judges summoned two federal ministers - Azam Swati and Hamid Saeed Kazmi, in court in the Hajj scam. Both ministers had earlier exchanged allegations of corruption once the scam was highlighted in the media.

Gilani is said to have been in a flux after the exchange of accusations between the two ministers. The PM was advised by his close aides to ask his religious affairs minister to resign, as it would improve his own government’s image in the media and in the public.

Sources said PM Gilani was upset since his own name had started appearing in the media in relation to his alleged role in the appointment of Rao Shakeel. Shakeel is in FIA custody on charges of corruption in the Hajj arrangements. Gilani was advised that it would be proper to ask religious affairs minister to resign on his own, because it would send a good message to the SC where the scam is being heard.

As Gilani was convinced with the logic of this move, he had contacted the president to get the presidential seal of approval. Gilani is understood to have told the president that he wanted to ask Hamid Saeed Kazmi to stay out of the cabinet till his name was cleared.

However, well placed sources said that the president did not appreciate this out of the box approach of asking a cabinet minister to resign when the case was being heard in the Supreme Court and all sorts of stories were being published against the minister in the media. Zardari told the PM not to take any such step as it would demoralise his own minister, particularly when Kazmi was fighting a crucial battle in the apex court.

The sources said that before making the call to the president, the PM was confident that he would get permission to sack his own minister as he had successfully done in the case of Defence Production Minister Abdul Qayyum Jatoi. This was done after Jatoi gave a controversial statement in Quetta against the military leadership of the country. Gilani had summoned Jatoi to the PM House the same evening and told him to resign.

Gilani was of the view that as the religious affairs minister was confident that he did not do anything wrong in the process of leasing of buildings in Saudi Arabia, it should not be a problem for him to first get a clean bill from the courts before resuming his job as the minister.

But, sources said, President Zardari was of the opinion that it would show weakness of his government before the media and a hostile judiciary.

The president has also been informed that Kazmi was being targeted because of sectarian tensions between Barelvi and Deobandi schools of thought. Kazmi belongs to the Barelvi school while Azam Swati is of the Deobandi school. Kazmi had even alleged that he was attacked by gunmen outside his office by the Taliban because for his beliefs.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2010.

COMMENTS (25)

Mohammad naeem | 13 years ago | Reply Kazmi sb should not be sacked until proven guilty. And President is right in his own.

Fahim | 13 years ago | Reply Mr. Kazmi is being targeted on sectarian grounds, period.

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Abrar | 13 years ago | Reply RK was expected to be an expert in investigative reporting. If this was a spin to portray the PM as the good cop, it has failed to achieve that objective. What RK has exposed is the fact that either the PM is without any powers, or the fact that what Qayuum Jatoi stated about corruption being the right of everybody, has become the new mantra of this party, which once promised Roti, Kapra aur Makan, but now defends those that denied provision of tents and water for WAZU to Hajjis at Mina and an MD of PIA which oversaw the worst delays in haj flights. Bravo RK for doing such a nice job.

hassan | 13 years ago | Reply this story shows PM is better than president, well everybody knows very well both are best friends and corrupt, they play games with our nation and our innocent journalists take their games seriously and start filing stories on their so called courageous acts. anyways the story was good as usual by rk.

parvez | 13 years ago | Reply Brilliant stuff this. The Boss also has to demonstrate that he is the Boss.

Dajjal | 13 years ago | Reply The PM shouldn't fire Mr.Kazmi as he isn't finished destroying all the evidence yet and firing him prematurely would have an adverse effect on the investigation...

Akhtar | 13 years ago | Reply Well chief justice odf pakistan did not resigjn when a reference was sent to supreem judicial council by musharaf why should this minister go?? It is sad that only thing people are interested in is allegations of coruption against govt So much social evils in pakistan.

Amer | 13 years ago | Reply Didn't one of the PPP ministers say that corruption was their HAQQ? Well, it couldn't be true if their leaders didn't believe it.

majid maqsood | 13 years ago | Reply Its good decision by President because the accused must be given platform to defend himself, if he is failed to do so then he may be sacked and it is more then justified. yet case is in court and let the court decide his fate if we believe in judiciary.

Malik T | 13 years ago | Reply Rauf Klasra has exposed moral handicap of the PM to hold office of PM Pakistan, if he lacks the courage to stand up and be heard. Either the PM should resign or be seen to take steps to eradicate corruption. As far as Haj operation is concerned, all those involved should have been suspended till they are cleared. Is the PM not aware that corruption has taken place and our Hajis have been victim of the insatiable greed of these characterless men involved in such a shamefull scam.. Those appointed as Ministers were not elected as ministers, so what is the constitutional hitch in removing them. What action has the PM taken against MD of PIA, which has carried out one of the worst hajj operation ever conducted by PIA in its history. These poor hajis were overcharged for accomodation, air travel and not provided the facilities that they had paid for. PM Gillani must stand up, or leave, if he cannot provide minimum of good governance that is expected of any government. The Government has been elected for a 5 year term to provide good governance and not to harras the people. Till todate not a single men has been held accountable for the various irregularities and scams that have taken place.

Sohail | 13 years ago | Reply Mr primeminister please dont let such traitors go unpunished!

Rizwan Anwar | 13 years ago | Reply Why should the hourable minister for Hajj and Religious resign if some Haajis could not be accomodated? In this land of the PURE such ideas should be ruthlessly curbed. We are made to belief by our leaders that all that happens is what is written in our destiny. Going by this, it must be written in the destiny of the poor haajis to suffer. The main thing is that our VVIP's did not suffer any inconvience durring this Hajj for which we all must be grateful to our Minister.

Asrar Ahmed | 13 years ago | Reply So what this article says is PM is holy,President is bad person. To be honest, this is the most incompetent governance that this solar system has witnessed. Mr PM, how can you justify giving one year extension to a person who issues about 30,000 prohibited bore licences (most fake and with autorisation) and who was arrested.by FIA. This is absolutely disgusting

Abdullah | 13 years ago | Reply we have to see on other side also. I think Pakistan side is not involved in such a big scam

Abdul Nasir Saggu | 13 years ago | Reply Corruption will be Legalized in Pakistan some day

Rizwan T Khan | 13 years ago | Reply LOL. You cant expect even an ant size appreciable act from the sitting govt. And we thought Pm is no more a mere Puppet. How wrong were we.

NaK | 13 years ago | Reply How can you think that our Honourable President* alow this ? Government has failed to deliver but in this case Goverrnment robed the people. *Honourable President: means..................................Rauf Klasra should better explain :)

Ehsan Haq | 13 years ago | Reply If cabinet ministers start resigning on allegation charges alone, then we will have to run the country without any cabinet, both in the center and provinces. Next to follow might be our senior bureaucracy. How do you like that idea?

Nazir Habib | 13 years ago | Reply "Resignation" and "Termination" are two words that dont exist in the GoP lexicon of morality and operations. Mowlana Kazmi should have voluntarily resigned but this is like counting stars in sunshine. His position may have been propitiously stronger had he done so. He would have received accolades of respect. But once a "mulla" always a mulla. Gillani is right in wanting him to resign or replacing him till the SC hearing is over. Obviously the sacrosanct occassion of Hajj is absent on them.

Nizaam | 13 years ago | Reply Such great people are being targeted by Media; what Media in Pakistan is coming to? Corruption in the Media is rampant.

Mir Tassadaq | 13 years ago | Reply Mr Klasra this seems to be just another attempt to resurrect the PM's image, which can only be repaired by actions on the ground. The PM is to be blamed because he is the constitutional head of executive. His family and friends are being implicated in a lot of irregularities and this is not the only scam in isolation. Are we to assume that he is so weak and impotent, not to be able to take matters in his hand. We are talking of Haj scam, where the host government Saudi Arabia itself has openly criticised the massive corruption, which led to harassment and inconvenience of these poor hajis. Let us stop calling ourselves Islamic Republic of Pakistan, if such is the state of poor governance, where even hajis are not being spared.

Sajjad Ashraf | 13 years ago | Reply Any sense of decency and good governance demands that the minister against whom such serious charges are being leveled should be asked to take leave of the cabinet till his name is cleared. But, this is Pakistan,- remember what KIng Abdullah is quoted as saying in Wikileaks.

Dr.Razi uddin | 13 years ago | Reply So,again it is the leader of the corrupt,inept band wagon..coming to rescue...shameless.... quite an example how kind the leader is ...and the story goes on and on and on...

S. Ali Raza | 13 years ago | Reply Last para: What do you mean alleged? wasn't he attacked where his driver had died and he got a bullet to the foot?

Syed Ijaz | 13 years ago | Reply In the President's opinion Kazmi has done only what others are doing, so what if Hajjis were the victims and almost 20,000 could not maintain their state of Ahram at Mina, because there was no water for even ablution, nor tiolets available to them. He does not want to set any precedent, because he fears this may haunt his whole cabinet and maybe himself. In the process to protect these corrupt vultures, PPP itself may become a casualty.

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