April 26, 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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