Adil Najam
Speaking of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani’s upcoming trip to USA and meeting with President George Bush a politically astute and well-connected friend in Pakistan said, “Its going to be a meeting of two lame ducks. George Bush is a lame duck because his tenure is about to end, and Yousuf Raza Gillani is a lame duck because his tenure never really started!”
For those who wish to see real democracy in Pakistan such comments instill a certain sadness. Yet, as a recent The News editorial highlighted, there is an increasing, palpable, and disturbing concern amongst Pakistanis about exactly who, if anyone, in in control of the government in Pakistan.
We thought maybe we should put exactly that question to our readers in this ATP Poll: Who do you think calls the shots? Who is really in-charge of Pakistan’s government today?
Of course, one could make this broader and more abstract by adding the Allah, Umreeka or Army responses. But our interest right now is on the daily governance of the country and who is calling the shots there.We woudl appreciate if the responses and comments also focus on that.
It appears no one is responsible to any one,and there is total mess in our beloved pakistan,which has been achieved after great sacrifices.
It’s one thing to say the U.S. has a very significant influence on the govt, and it’s a whole another thing to say the U.S. is in charge of Pakistan. We can’t let our “leaders” off the hook by blaming everything on the U.S. U.S. or another powerful country will always affect other countries. It’s the job of these leaders to stand up to these foreign powers when necessary, and use diplomacy when necessary.
I do agree that there is total chaos in governance in Pakistan today and certainly YRG has no control or sense of direction at all.
But let us not be too quick to blame him or Zardari for this. This is partly because Musharraf so loves his job that he holds to his kursi even after it is clear from election as well as street protests that the people of the country want him to leave.
until he leaves or is made to leave we will continue to have this chaos.
I would rather ask, ‘Who is in charge OF Pakistan’..
@Kasim Mahmood says:
Maybe you’re too generous to call them intelligent.