What's new

BYE BYE Mr. Prime Minister - Yousef Raza Gillani to be changed very soon

Pakistan military taking control

Bruce Loudon, New Delhi | December 08, 2008

Article from: The Australian

CONCERN grew in India yesterday that the Pakistan army had taken charge of the country's response to the Mumbai terror attacks and effectively staged a coup against the country's nascent democracy.

Fears of a full-scale resumption of power by the army in Islamabad lie behind India's relatively cautious response to the crisis, despite New Delhi's insistence that elements in Pakistan orchestrated the slaughter in Mumbai.

In a dramatic manifestation of the Pakistan army's role in the drama, the civilian Government reneged on its agreement with India to send the chief of the top spy agency, General Shuja Pasha, to New Delhi to help with the investigation. The army countermanded the deal.

And it has been disclosed that the chief of the army, General Ashfaq Kayani, despatched his personal aircraft to New Delhi in the middle of the night to pick up Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who was on an official visit to India at the time of the attacks.

Diplomatic sources said Mr Qureshi was told by General Kayani to get back to Islamabad and that the army chief's aircraft was being sent to bring him home.

The army, which has ruled Pakistan for most of its 61 years as an independent nation, revels in confrontations with India.

One analyst in New Delhi wrote yesterday: "It could be that the ultimate aim of this entire exercise (the Mumbai attacks) would be for the military in Pakistan to take power again inthe name of dealing with an India crisis."

Though India does not say so officially, New Delhi is convinced Pakistan's ISI spy agency was aware of the plan for the assault on Mumbai, just as it was aware of the bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul last July.

The ISI has longstanding and close ties to the al-Qa'ida-linked Lashkar-e-Toiba organisation believed to be responsible for the Mumbai attacks.

Until late last year, General Kayani, now much favoured by Washington, was the commander of the ISI, and General Pasha is one of his closest confidants.

Analysts believe the Mumbai assault was carried out to provide an opportunity for the army to reassert itself as the ultimate power in Pakistan, and to sideline the elected Government led by President Asif Ali Zardari.

General Kayani is believed to be calling the shots on Islamabad's response to the crisis.

In another assessment of the Mumbai fallout, another leading analyst has underlined the links that exist between al-Qa'ida and Lashkar-e-Toiba.

"LET's close ties with al-Qa'ida seem to be verified by its increasingly anti-Western stance, its radical internationalism and its movement towards a trans-regional jihad," said Rashmi Singh, a fellow at the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at St Andrews University in Scotland.

"LET has been identified as not only a critical recruiting link for operatives in Iraq, but also potentially providing training for the execution of terror attacks in Europe," she wrote. "Various LET operatives have also been identified as part of the insurgency in Iraq."

Al-Qa'ida's ideology was, Dr Singh argued, "clearly reflected in the deliberate targeting of American, British and Israeli nationals - a phenomenon never before seen in India".
 
.
A few articles have appeared in the media over this, with one in the ToI even suggesting that Zarari will take over the PM's position, while appointing his father as the president.

I am not sure how feasible the approach alleged in the ToI is, given that Zardari woud have to convince hsi entire party as well as his coalition partners to accomplish such a move.

In any case, here are the reports on the issue:
 
.
Zardari to be Pak PM, appoint father president?

30 Dec 2008, 0058 hrs IST, IANS

ISLAMABAD: There could be more political churning in the offing in Pakistan with President Asif Ali Zardari likely to replace Yousaf Raza Gilani
as prime minister and transferring all presidential powers to the prime minister by annulling the constitutional amendments former military dictator Pervez Musharraf had effected, a senior member of the ruling coalition says.

The politician said that Zardari has taken this decision after a sustained campaign by some members of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) that he has failed to implement what is being described as assassinated party chief Benazir Bhutto’s political will.

The PPP leader, requesting anonymity, said that Zardari is likely to install his father Hakim Ali Zardari or some low profile PPP sympathiser as president to avoid any controversy.

“Within the PPP, there are people who convinced Zardari to become prime minister and install his father as president,” said the leading politician, adding that if a mother-daughter duo can be prime minister and president in Sri Lanka and brothers could be prime minister and chief minister in Pakistan, a father-son duo could also occupy the top positions in this country.

Though PPP leaders officially deny any rift between Zardari and Gilani, insiders say that differences have reached the breaking point.

“Gilani has plainly refused to obey Zardari’s orders, saying everything would be done on merit,” said another party leader.

The changeover is likely after the elections to the Senate, the upper house of parliament, in March, when the PPP will be able to consolidate its position from its present nine to about half of the house of 100.

Presently, the PPP and its allies lack a two-thirds majority in either house of parliament that is required to annul the controversial amendments made by former president Pervez Musharraf to consolidate powers in the presidency. But they are likely to get the numbers after the March polls.

Zardari to be Pak PM, appoint father president?-Pakistan-World-The Times of India
 
.
All is not well between country’s two top offices

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

By Ansar Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is in a defiant mood and wants to run the government as the real chief executive, it is learnt.

Informed sources in the government told this correspondent that Gilani is running out of patience over the increasing interference of the presidency in the day-to-day running of the government due to which differences between the top two offices of the country have already cropped up.

These sources said that of late Prime Minister Gilani has raised a hue and cry over British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s joint press conference with President Asif Ali Zardari during the former’s recent visit to Pakistan. Gilani insisted that the protocol demanded that such a press conference should have been addressed by the two prime ministers.

Farhatullah Babar, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) spokesman and media adviser to the president, however, maintained that the reports of differences between the presidency and the prime minister’s office are mere speculation by the media. But sources insist that things have gone bad between the two. “I contradict all such reports,” Babar told this correspondent.

The sources, however, said that it was also the consequence of the tension between the two offices that three key bureaucratic positions directly associated with the prime minister remain unfilled despite the lapse of several days. These include the principal secretary to the prime minister, the secretary establishment and the secretary cabinet. All these three top secretaries serve under the prime minister and report to the chief executive directly.

The former principal secretary to the prime minister Siraj Shamsuddin, who was considered President Zardari’s close confidante, was recently relieved of his post and appointed the country’s executive director in the Asian Development Bank. A PM Secretariat source claimed that Siraj was pushed out of the PM Secretariat because Gilani was not comfortable with him. It is said that on one occasion Gilani was so angry with his former principal secretary that he tossed an official file, which Siraj wanted him to sign, hitting the wall of his office.

The file, it is said, contained the case of re-appointment of sacked employees. The issue of re-appointment of thousands of political appointees of Benazir Bhutto’s second regime is being pressed by the Presidency but Prime Minister Gilani is reluctant to do any thing that might land him in trouble later on. This very issue, it is said, was the first major point of difference between President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani.

According to sources, Gilani even in a cabinet meeting expressed his reservations about the en-bloc reinstatement/re-appointment of the sacked political appointees of the last PPP regime. The objective, though apparently approved by the cabinet, is still far from being realised to the satisfaction of the presidency.

Siraj was the choice of President Zardari as principal secretary to the Prime Minister Gilani. But now Gilani wants principal secretary of his choice and for this he has already asked some of his friends to suggest him names of some talented bureaucrats for the high profile bureaucratic slot.

After the departure of Siraj Shamsuddin, the office of the principal secretary to the PM is currently held by Nargis Sethi, the additional secretary PM Secretariat till the appointment of regular principal secretary.

Similarly after the sudden removal of secretary cabinet Ghiasuddin and his namesake secretary establishment Ghiasuddin Ahmed a few weeks back, both the key positions of the civilian bureaucracy remain vacant till now. The two Ghiasuddins were removed in a late night order issued by the prime minister amid unconfirmed reports that these officers were in direct contact with the presidency and used to get orders from there. Both the cabinet and establishment divisions are presently headed by their respective additional secretaries on acting charge basis.

A source close to the prime minister said that Gilani is uncomfortable with two presidential aides — Salman Farooqi, the principal secretary to the President, and Dr Qayyum Soomro, President’s special assistant. Recently he got angry with Farooqi on the issue of bureaucratic changes. The prime minister also does not appreciate Dr Qayyum’s tendency of contacting all and sundry in the government and giving them instructions bypassing the prime minister’s office.

Sources close to the prime minister said that Gilani does not mind taking the president into confidence even on matters that fall in his exclusive jurisdiction but he is uncomfortable with too much interference of the presidential aides.

All is not well between country’s two top offices
 
.
This dude is out of his mind first he took mushy away a good man a good leader now he wants to take his best key guy away GOD help us but this does not mean that we cant and will not defend or selves for those you cant wait to jump on this topic !!
 
.
This dude is out of his mind first he took mushy away a good man a good leader now he wants to take his best key guy away GOD help us but this does not mean that we cant and will not defend or selves for those you cant wait to jump on this topic !!
Gillani isn't as smart and outspoken as these articles make him out to be. He'll fall.

The only thing he can do is, get a significant chunk of PPP members supporting him into the Senate. That way he'd be able to breakaway from the PPP taking away their 2/3rd majority!

And just imagine, if this PPP breakaway supports PML-N and even PML-Q supports PML-N... That would certainly backfire on Zardari's plans.

But going against the royal family of PPP isn't something PPP leaders would easily do.
 
.
Gillani isn't as smart and outspoken as these articles make him out to be. He'll fall.

The only thing he can do is, get a significant chunk of PPP members supporting him into the Senate. That way he'd be able to breakaway from the PPP taking away their 2/3rd majority!

And just imagine, if this PPP breakaway supports PML-N and even PML-Q supports PML-N... That would certainly backfire on Zardari's plans.

But going against the royal family of PPP isn't something PPP leaders would easily do.


technically he does not belongs to the royal family of bhuttos...
 
.
The person who mourned the death of Mrs. Benazir Bhutto the most IMO is Mr. Nawaz Sharif - probably the saddest day of his life.

As long as she was alive, all the news coming out of Pakistan indicated that Mr. Sharif was the overwhelmingly popular choice to win the election and would beat the PPP by a huge margin to form the govt

Suddenly with her death, all the votes casted swung and went on to elect a person as their President who was considered as a pariah and laibility to PPP - whom nobody wanted to be associated with

Nawaz Sharif couldn't have been unluckier
 
.
Gillani isn't as smart and outspoken as these articles make him out to be. He'll fall.

The only thing he can do is, get a significant chunk of PPP members supporting him into the Senate. That way he'd be able to breakaway from the PPP taking away their 2/3rd majority!

And just imagine, if this PPP breakaway supports PML-N and even PML-Q supports PML-N... That would certainly backfire on Zardari's plans.

But going against the royal family of PPP isn't something PPP leaders would easily do.

There is also the Amin Fahim factor, as well as whatever support Aitzaz Ahsan and like minded leaders can drum up. I am not sure a blatantly selfish move to replace Gillani with himself and appoint his father president would get support from everyone in the party - he isn't BB, and there are many in the PPP who do not care for him.

I do agree with you that Gillani on his own is not really a good enough politician to ward off Zardari's machinations.
 
.
Seems like the PROPHECY I made is near to its natural culmination here!

Gillani is OUTTA here within the next few weeks! Adios Amigos

And Zardari is already politicking to have his replacement ready!!
 
. .
Seems like the PROPHECY I made is near to its natural culmination here!

Gillani is OUTTA here within the next few weeks! Adios Amigos

And Zardari is already politicking to have his replacement ready!!

So epool,

Who are we looking at as a potential future PM?
 
. . . .

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom