I want to make history: Gilani

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

I want to make history: Gilani
​

Monday, July 20, 2009
Says enough is enough; wants powerful parliament, active and effective cabinet; vows to take decisions on merit, not according to somebody’s wishes; says CoD to be implemented with PML-N’s help; rejects ban on SMS, e-mails

By Hamid Mir

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is now in an aggressive mood. He is serious about good governance. He has decided to reshuffle the federal cabinet only on merit, and not according to “somebody’s liking or disliking”.

He appears to be very confident after emerging victorious from Sharm el-Sheikh. His aggressive stance on the Indian interference in Balochistan came as a surprise to Manmohan Singh. Now his stance against the president’s interference in the day-to-day affairs of government could surprise Zardari in the coming days and weeks.

The nomination of a DMG officer, Jahanzeb Khan, as ambassador to France by the President House was a challenge to the authority of the prime minister. The decision was conveyed to the Foreign Office by the President House directly on telephone. However, Gilani did not react immediately. He waited for a few days and then proposed that Jahanzeb Khan would be appointed as ambassador to France only after he resigned from the DMG service. Obviously, Jahanzeb Khan was not ready to sacrifice his DMG post for a few years’ ambassadorship. Eventually, the prime minister rejected his nomination despite the fact that he had all the blessings of the President House. Gilani has sent a very strong message everywhere by rejecting the nomination of Jahanzeb Khan. He took this action after consulting many colleagues in the cabinet and in the PPP.

The prime minister has also finalised some surprising changes in the federal cabinet. He is determined to remove at least three close buddies of Zardari from some very important ministries.

In an informal conversation with this scribe, Gilani said: “Enough is enough. I have assessed the performance of my ministers during the last one year. Now I have to make some changes according to merit, not according to somebody’s liking and disliking because I am responsible for running a country of more than 170 million people”.

He also made it clear that the recent announcement of Interior Minister Rehman Malik about action against anti-government e-mails and SMS would not be implemented. The prime minister did not take Rehman Malik seriously and said that nobody would be allowed in the future to make such announcements without consulting the federal cabinet. He said, “I am not bothered about any e-mail or SMS because nobody is sending anything against me.”

Sources close to the prime minister revealed that at least 90 MNAs from the PPP had already assured their support to Gilani in any case. About 91 PML-N members, 54 PML-Q MNAs, 16 independents and 13 members of the ANP in the National Assembly would also go with Gilani, the sources said.

Only 24 MNAs from the MQM, six from Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s JUI-F and about 35 others, including some PPP ministers, are on the presidentís side. Zardari is not in a position to remove Gilani because the prime minister enjoys a simple majority in the National Assembly despite the unseen opposition from the President House. The PM has evidence about involvement of some close aides of the president in his character assassination. These silent operators distributed huge amount of money among some journalists for proving Gilani as a “bad chap”, but they have failed. Though there is no evidence that President Zardari was directly involved in the character assassination campaign against the PM, some of his silent soldiers are still very close to him.

Despite all his presidential powers Zardari even cannot dare dissolve the National Assembly. According to Article 58(3), within 15 days of the dissolution, the president has to refer the matter to the Supreme Court, which would decide the issue in one month.

Gilani is confident that new parliament will definitely get rid of 17th Amendment. “It’s our election manifesto. We will implement the Charter of Democracy with the help of the PML-N.”Gilani also claimed that actually it was he who had asked President Zardari to hold talks with Nawaz Sharif a few days ago. Gilani said, “I broke the ice between President Zardari and Nawaz Sharif”.

He also shared some of his future plans with The News. “I want a powerful parliament. I need an active and effective cabinet. I want to make history. I will re-open the trial of late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and that is my promise with you.

I want to make history: Gilani

--------------------------------

He definitely seems to have the right ideas - his move to overrule the ban by Rehman Dakait's ( I mean Malik) SMS bans and the posting of a DMG officer as Ambassador to France are appreciated.

Whether he will have the will to carry on in the face of opposition from Zardari is the question.

Good luck to him, and I hope he retains the support of the opposition and significant members of his own party as he goes forward in order to enact such change.

 

[ajpirzada]

ya he has been responsible so far. the way he acted during judiciary crisis was also quite mature. he is one of the few ppl i like in PPP.
Gudluck Mr. PM

 

[notorious_eagle]

Actions speak louder than words Prime Minister Gillani, if you really want to be loved by the masses than do something for this country. We did explode an atomic bomb but now we need an economic bomb, the economy of our country is vital to the future and if he wants to get re elected again than instead of making noises do something for the country. Instead of asking for a handout from Western nations, solve this electricity crises so business can boom once again. Almost all the people i know who are in manufacturing business or even in retail are cussing this government day and night because of their inability to solve this electricity crises.

 

[ajpirzada]

^^gov has already said that electricity crisis be resolved by the end of this year. so lets give them that much time.

 

[brilTek]

To PM Gillani From An American: Step Up or Step Down ​

By Thomas Houlahan
Sunday, 12 July 2009.

It seems to me that just about monthly, leaks start coming out of the Prime Minister’s office in Islamabad. “The prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, feels betrayed by President Asif Ali Zardari,” say the leakers. “The prime minister is supposed to be the real leader of Pakistan, not the President.”

After his disastrous American trip, it seemed that he might be useful as the public face of the government. Unfortunately, Gilani was unable to master complex technological innovations like the TelePrompter and had a tendency to make statements that necessitated “clarifications” within 24 hours of his having made them. Eventually, the Pakistan People’s Party decided to eliminate the middle man and have Information Minister Sherry Rehman, whose portfolio included issuing clarifications for Gilani, issue most government statements herself.


Still, it seemed Gilani might be useful after all. Since he was a former Speaker of the National Assembly, it was assumed that he would be ideal to guide that body. Not exactly.


The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) found that in the first year of its sitting, the National Assembly had managed to pass a grand total of three government bills. That is not a typographical error. It passed three government bills.


In addition, twelve of the forty-six standing committees in the National Assembly had not even elected chairmen, and could therefore do no work. At least ten had elected chairmen, but had done nothing further.


If this is not a world record for legislative futility, it’s got to be close.


Okay, so foreign policy, public speaking and legislative direction are not Gilani’s strong suits. He could at least direct the ministries, right? Wrong.


Gilani has not even been able to control cabinet meetings, looking flustered as they have repeatedly dissolved into shouting matches.

Meanwhile, with the exception of the Foreign Ministry, Pakistan’s ministries are an absolute mess.


Gilani has exercised little control over the ministries themselves, other than to help applicants with connections in the upper reaches of the Pakistan People’s Party get postings that they are either under- or completely unqualified for. Ansar Abbasi of the News International has done some excellent reporting on this scandal. Abbasi has found that party bigwigs take their demands to the prime minister’s office and that office directs the ministry concerned to make the hire. “Politicization of bureaucracy was never like this before,” he quotes a senior prime minister’s secretariat official as saying. Given Pakistan’s history of misgovernment, that’s saying something.


Given that Gilani once did a stretch of almost six years in prison for putting some 600 of his constituents on the public payroll while he was Speaker of the National Assembly, I am compelled to question the prime minister’s judgment. If serious jail time doesn’t wise you up, what will?



Some foreign capitals seem to share my concern. The majority of the money committed by the Friends of Pakistan has not been sent yet partly due to concerns about Pakistani government corruption. The governance situation is also complicating matters in the United States Congress, which is currently debating aid for Pakistan.


Instead of demanding additional powers, Gilani should be doing some serious soul searching. Instead of complaining about what the president owes him, Gilani should consider what he, as prime minister, owes the people of Pakistan. If he can’t handle the job, he needs to hand it over to someone who can.


To put it bluntly, it is time for the prime minister to get serious or get lost.

 

[SSGPA1]

He said, “I am not bothered about any e-mail or SMS because nobody is sending anything against me.”

Good intentions but PM needs to be careful in making statements. He should have said that:

“I am not bothered about any e-mail or SMS because these are part and parcel of democracy"

 

[Omar1984]

Please make good history like 1947, 1998, and the time Pakistan's economy was blooming in the first half of this decade. Please dont make bad history like 1971.

Good Luck Prime Minister Gilani


PAKISTAN ZINDABAD

 

[qsaark]

 

[SSGPA1]

^^ Irshad A. Haqqani is father of Hussain Haqqani so you can imagine where his loyalties lie.

Mr. Haqqani senior is a living example of peeli sahafat

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Editorial: Gilani versus Zardari?​

Has one prong of the PPP’s “two-pronged policy” in Islamabad come unstuck and is challenging the other prong? At least that is the impression one gets from an interview Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has given to a national newspaper on Monday. The content of the interview looks like a revolt by Mr Gilani against the PPP party chief and an aggressive reclamation of executive authority from President Asif Ali Zardari.

Mr Gilani has seemingly put an end to the brewing ministerial battle over the nomination of a DMG officer as ambassador to France by rescinding the nomination which was said to have been moved from the presidency. Acting clearly against Interior Minister Rehman Malik, he says the recent order by the latter against anti-government emails and SMSs would not be implemented. This too is going to be interpreted as an act against the authority of the president because Mr Malik is known to be Mr Zardari’s protégé.

Mr Gilani had revealed on TV months ago that he was not pleased with the appointments made in the government without regard to merit at the behest of the presidency and had promised to set things right. He may now be ready to do that. According to the interview, he wants three ministers ousted from his cabinet after scrutinising their performance: “Enough is enough. I have assessed the performance of my ministers during the last one year. Now I have to make some changes according to merit, not according to somebody’s liking and disliking because I am responsible for running a country of more than 170 million people.”

Was there anything said directly against President Zardari? No, unless you can read something into the matter of the SMSs that the Interior Minister wanted punished without consulting him: “I am not bothered about any email or SMS because nobody is sending anything against me.” This is the one signal that points to Mr Gilani’s sensitivity about appearing to be subservient to an unpopular president. The gist of the interview also includes the following observation: “The PM has evidence about involvement of some close aides of the president in his character assassination.”

Did the prime minister actually say what has been reported? One fact is, however, certain. He chose his interviewer from among journalists known to be opposed to many of President Zardari’s policies. The reference to the NAM summit at Sharm al Sheikh and Mr Gilani’s aggressive stance taken there with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also points to the strengthening of the prime minister’s position with certain elements of power in the country. Signs of this cleavage were clear over the past few months: the prime minister was taking a tougher line on India than the president.

The report also speculates about the “strength” of the prime minister against the president if the latter should ever be inclined to use Article 58-2(b). In case this is done the case will go to the Supreme Court where the dice is already loaded against the president. If the president tries to bring a no-confidence vote against the prime minister in the National Assembly, the tally there too, according to the newspaper, is in favour of the prime minister.

Is the PPP faced with an internal revolt? Is the age-old wisdom — that a prime minister who is not the leader of his party can hardly rule — in operation? President Farooq Leghari had dismissed prime minister and party chief Benazir Bhutto. Can a president who is also the leader of the party get rid of a rebellious prime minister? Is Mr Gilani about to become a Junejo to Mr Zardari?

There is no doubt that Mr Gilani is reacting to “interference”; he has given evidence of his annoyance with it in the past. But there is the additional factor of his political “empowerment” over time which has to be considered.

The 17th Amendment is about to go. President Zardari says he can live without it. Mr Gilani is ruling on behalf of the party and unless he breaks the party in two, he can’t go against the wishes of Mr Zardari. What is most likely happening is that both Mr Zardari and Mr Gilani are working in tandem to set things right. Mr Zardari is likely to act with his characteristic pragmatism and remove the irritants pointed out by his prime minister. Mr Gilani cannot afford to ride alone on his political base in South Punjab. And Mr Zardari cannot afford to change his prime minister in the middle of the electoral term. The “get-Zardari” or “get-PPP” lobby may yet be disappointed. Note that the interviewer was careful to point out that Mr Zardari is not the object of Mr Gilani’s reassertion! *

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Fracker]

He has already made the history, the PM who don't know how parliment works, the PM who only say the words which are dictated to him, the PM who destroy economy boom, just after joining the cabinet, the PM who speaks alot but can't do much!!

History is here!! if you are so honest on your words, you wouldn't wait for that long for working on CoD, or restoring CJ. And everyone will always remember you in the history!!

 

[ajpirzada]

you cant get around things my declaring war against someone. there is a lot of political maneuvering involved. this guy has gud intentions and with help from God he will succeed in achievin his targets.
it not realistic to blame this gov for much of the economic downturn

 

[Fracker]

you cant get around things my declaring war against someone. there is a lot of political maneuvering involved. this guy has gud intentions and with help from God he will succeed in achievin his targets.
it not realistic to blame this gov for much of the economic downturn

Like he restored Court on post 3 Nov, situation.. Also he implemented CoD.. LOLZZ keep dreaming, it don't cost much

For economy collapse, the only thing which i saw negative trend, started just after he joined, there was many reasons, like government allow $$ to go up, against Rupee, dis-comfort of many big local giants on this government, like i remember one giant said "Zardari a gaya to loggon k dhotiyan b beech k kha jay ga". And that happened.. He was going for pretty big project in pakistan, but then paid all that investment to Mr. Zardari. And now pakistani people are facing biggest problem (guess ) Also many big investors run away because of cool repo of Mr. President (he proven as per his repo)

Ps: that guy isn't small group or something (can't say who he is)

 

[Khalids]

Irshad A. Haqqani is father of Hussain Haqqani so you can imagine where his loyalties lie.

Any reference please!

 

[ajpirzada]

Like he restored Court on post 3 Nov, situation.. Also he implemented CoD.. LOLZZ keep dreaming, it don't cost much

For economy collapse, the only thing which i saw negative trend, started just after he joined, there was many reasons, like government allow $$ to go up, against Rupee, dis-comfort of many big local giants on this government, like i remember one giant said "Zardari a gaya to loggon k dhotiyan b beech k kha jay ga". And that happened.. He was going for pretty big project in pakistan, but then paid all that investment to Mr. Zardari. And now pakistani people are facing biggest problem (guess ) Also many big investors run away because of cool repo of Mr. President (he proven as per his repo)

Ps: that guy isn't small group or something (can't say who he is)

in judiciary crisis he did play a role. accrodin to almost all the news reports it was him and Gen. Kayani who convinced zardari.
y would u expect rupee to not change when ur oil import bill doubles and u r importing wheat which was exported by previous gov.
secondly wat makes u think investors will be willing to invest under given security situation?
zardari may be corrupt but i have got nothing against Gilani. He has proved much better even in international diplomacy. and we saw that in his recent meeting with indian PM.