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20 April 2012 By
Saeed Qureshi
It was quite amusing to
watch Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
exuding a dim smile and facial relief after hearing
the much awaited verdict of the Supreme Court of
Pakistan. The prime minister has remained strung on
the tenterhooks of uncertainty and paranoia for a few
months as to what would be the outcome of the
proceedings of the contempt case being heard by the
Apex court.
But perhaps the matter
may not end here. His standing as the prime minister
has been fairly tainted and tarnished as he did not
come clean out of the messy situation he was stuck in
because of his emphatic refusal to write a letter to
the Swiss concerned authorities for reopening the
money laundering cases against the incumbent president
of Pakistan honorable Asif Ali Zardari.
But his stubborn defiance
or resistance to not write the letter in order to save
his party boss exhibits his unflinching loyalty to the
president of Pakistan who is also the chairperson of
the Pakistan People's Party. He is certainly under a
heavy debt of gratitude to Mr. Zardari for his
appointment as the prime minister of Pakistan although
initially the party chairman had publically announced
to field Makhdoom Amin Faheem as the candidate for the
exalted position. Later there were rumors that Shah
Mahmood Qureshi was being tipped on behalf of the PPP
to be elected by the parliament as the prime minister
of Pakistan.
But loyalty to the chief
has cost Prime Minister Gilani dearly. By saving a
highly corrupt boss and party chief, prime minister
has received a deep dent in his well established
reputation as a man of principles and of clean
character. He has been under a constant shadow of
smear, accusations and disparagement for the blatant
misuse of his vast powers as the chief executive of
Pakistan. Further he is maligned because of the
involvement of his two flamboyant sons in mammoth
scams of corruption that are under investigation of
the superior courts.
As we all are aware, his
elder son Abdul Qadir Gilani skimmed millions of
dollars in the Hajj scandal for which a former Hajj
minister Mr. Hamid Saeed Kazmi had to sacrifice his
ministerial post and face the terse legal proceedings
that might entail his incarceration as well.
While delivering the
verdict of this contempt case, the Supreme Court has
nevertheless hinted that the prime minister could also
face grim consequences due to a constitutional clause
63(1) (g) which stipulates that a convicted person
cannot hold a prestigious office. It is perhaps
because of that caveat that the president of the PMLN
Mian Nawaz Sharif has demanded Prime Minister Gilani's
resignation.
By all indications he
would not resign as despite a galore of serious legal
and moral lapses by every minister of the incumbent
government, not one ever thought of relinquishing his
job as is the practice in other countries. Even in
India many ministers resigned because there was an
enquiry in progress in the courts or they were accused
of indulging in corruption or committed dereliction of
their responsibilities.
He might like to hang on
to the post until the time of the next elections which
means he would exhaust his tenure regardless of
whether he is clean or tainted. But if he can still
have the temerity of facing the incessant flow of
accusations, his two sons cannot be absolved or walk
out of the court until there was incontrovertible
evidence to get themselves acquitted.
The Supreme Court is also
seized of a petition against the former media advisor
of the prime minister, Khurram Rasool, indicted in a
case of taking bribe worth Rs630 million, from Pervez
Hussain for award of an LPG contract. Khurram Rasool
has already confessed the incidence of the crime and
has even surrendered a few crores that he has pocketed
in concert with other felons, reportedly including one
of the sons of the prime minister.
While his position as the
prime minister of Pakistan has become exceedingly
controversial, the constitutions clause 63(1) (g)
would dangle on his head like a proverbial "Sword of
Damocles". As the honorable court very rightly pointed
out that there are very serious consequences for the
prime minister in regard to the application of the
clause that relates to the eligibility of the members
of the national assembly.
If in the coming days
another petition is filed in the Supreme Court,
challenging the continuation of Prime Minister Gilani
as the chief executive of government, he will have to
justify legality of his being in the highest executive
office which presently seems to be a pretty tall
order.
The best way-out,
therefore, for the present government and for the
prime minister is to call for early elections so that
a new leadership is thrown up through a veritable
democratic process of fair elections. If he is adamant
to remain as the prime minister despite the thickening
of dark clouds over his political horizon, he might
further harm his image which would be irredeemable.
The possibility of face saving can be explored now and
not after loss of time and loss of face. |
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