Adil Najam
Before the elections Dawn News had done a series on who should become the next Prime Minister of Pakistan. I am not sure what the result there was. But I do know that the question is real again. Much more real.
Speculation is rife. Theories about. The more we talk about it, the more confused we get. The game is interesting, but is it just a game?
There are too many questions, and too few answers.
- Will we get a grand ‘coalition of [nearly] the whole, which will have 3/4th majority and could replace the President and rehabilitate the Constitution?
- Will PPP and PML-N part ways – either because PML-N will choose to be the ‘friendly’ opposition or because they both realize they cannot work together?
- What about the PML-Q? They are also talking to the PPP. Is a PPP-PML-Q coalition on teh cards?
- They say Amin Fahim is over, is he?
- Will we get a PM from the Punjab – Gillani, Qureshi or Mukhtar – to highlight that PPP is not just a ‘Sindhi’ party? If so, will this is permanent or temporary while the party waits for Asif Zardari to be elected from somewhere?
- With Maulana Fazlur Rahman doing his ‘meetings’, is he still in the game?
- What about the ANP? Could we see a consensus candidate emerging from there in the ruling coalition?
- And what about the provinces. It seemed that things were clear – PML-N in the Punjab, PPP in Sindh, ANP in NWFP and PML-Q in Balochistan. Will that actually be?
And you could answer any of them in the affirmative depending on what you already think and which news reports you have been reading. Any ideas what might actually happen?
In a recent post on ATP ‘temporal‘ had asked who should become the next president of Pakistan. We ask a similar question today but the intent this time is not normative, but practical. The question, this time, is not who should become the next President, but who you think will become the next Prime Minister, given the way the cards have been dealt with the last elections.
so, Koun Baney Ga Wazeer-i-Aazm? Any thoughts?
I am not PPP fan generally due to party’s performance in govt in past, but Zardari is best choice for PM if he was MNA, the new man deserves credit for change, it may sound odd, but he sounds real, convincing, and is better than most leaders in his newly acquired skills, specially, Urdu and English speech skills, if PPP Govt performs well , PPP has potential to become main party in Punjab in future elections.
Zardari Zindabad !!!
Aqil, what I meant is that I fail to understand why our educated betters seem to be vehemently opposed to what the people of Pakistan want. My recent comments may have lead some to believe that I am a diehard fan of the PPP (or God forbid Asif Zardari), or that I think that the recent elections were spotless; both are very incorrect.
What has made me somewhat angry in recent weeks is that the people who were against having elections in the first place (talk about enthusiasm for democracy), are now saying who *should* be president or prime minister….I personally think that if you did not vote, you have no right to be part of this debate.
We need to have a broader debate on why our educated classes are anti-PPP, and keep hurling the ‘Sindhi’ accusation. The fact that the PPP is wildly popular in Sindh is something it should be proud of! What’s amazing is that you can apply the ethnic-lines argument to every party BUT the PPP, simply because it is the most widespread. PML (pick your flavor) doesn’t have any support outside the Punjab, the common man doesn’t even know that the ANP exists, the MMA is lost in its own little world, etc.
In most countries, educated people tend to be liberal, at the very least in the economic sense. However, it makes sense why our elite hate the PPP; because they see it as a threat to their the status quo which supports them and perpetuates the gaping hole between the rich and the poor. I don’t know how Zardari’s influence (he being very “interested” in business) will change the PPP, but I sure hope it sticks by its core principles.
Aitzaz Ahsan is too important of a figure to be left out…and I’d be very surprised if he’s not at least a minister in less than 6 months or so.
“I am personally disappointed that they are even considering 3 nobodies from Punjab in place of Fahim. If it was about choosing someone purely on merit, it ought to have been Aitezaz Ahsan who is genuine prime ministerial material. But if the provincial background is the primary consideration, then having a Punjabi in place of Amin Fahim makes absolutely no sense”.
@Aqil,
It all makes perfect sense if you consider that AZ may have Prime Ministerial ambitions. Naturally, having Amin Fahim as the cndidate and expecting him to keep the seat warm for AZ is ludicrous. Hence a way must be found to shunt him out and to have a “nobody” from Punjab in that role; that is the obvious choice.
Someone asked if the PM were not to be from Sindh, why not someone from Balochistan or NWFP? That too is simple enough. That Maulana diesel covets the position is well known. But he is no Shuj of Guj to dutifully vacate it after 45 days. Nor would Asfandyar Wali, who would find such an offer justifiably insulting.
If Amin Fahim is not the nominee, it is bad news for Pakistan whichever way you look at it. PPPP would be opening the door for Mush to play his game, and he will. You can count on it.
Eidee Man:
While the author can explain his statement better, I hope you wouldn’t take personal offense if I said that that your recent posts are showing that you might be getting a bit overly touchy about the PPP.
The idea that a Punjabi PM might be picked to ‘highlight that the party is not just a Sindhi party’ did not originate in this post. It came from a PPP person himself who was quoted by a prominent newspaper. Absurd? Yes. But it’s the PPP that is to blame for its absurdity and not Adil Najam, who was merely stating some questions in light of recent news reports.
I am personally disappointed that they are even considering 3 nobodies from Punjab in place of Fahim. If it was about choosing someone purely on merit, it ought to have been Aitezaz Ahsan who is genuine prime ministerial material. But if the provincial background is the primary consideration, then having a Punjabi in place of Amin Fahim makes absolutely no sense.
The PPP is living in fantasy land if it really thinks having a Punjabi PM will somehow improve its standing in Punjab.
I wonder if people purposely twist things to suit their own narrow prejudices or they just don’t know how to read?