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PPP nominee Yousuf Gillani has his task cut out

ISLAMABAD: On the day Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani was convicted by an anti-corruption court in 2002, Pakistan People’s Party leader Asif Ali Zardari, who was appearing in one of his own cases in the same court, is reported to have told the judge: “You have convicted the future President of Pakistan.”

The story may be apocryphal, but nominated for the prime ministership, Mr. Gillani has to steer the PPP-led coalition through an uncertain period that could see a clash between Parliament on the one hand, and the presidency and the Supreme Court on the other.

Mr. Gillani, a vice-president of the PPP, was among the four contenders for the premiership in the party. The others were his rival from Multan, Shah Mahmood Qureishi, PPP vice-chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim and former Commerce Minister Ahmed Mukhtar.

But as the battle turned ugly with Mr. Fahim sulking at being sidelined and Mr. Mukhtar presenting himself to the media as the main contender, Mr. Qureishi and Mr. Gillani appeared to withdraw from the premiership stakes, with the latter even announcing that he was not interested in the post.

There was also speculation that anyone nominated for the prime ministership was only a a “temp,” and would need to step down three months down the line to make way for Mr. Zardari after he entered Parliament through a by-election, a condition that political leaders with their own standing would find difficult to accept.

Mr. Gillani’s name surfaced again strongly last week and, according to party sources, was suggested by Mr. Fahim as a compromise nominee based on his seniority within the party to resolve the impasse over the nomination that was threatening to consume the PPP.

Although the party had earlier said Mr. Zardari’s son and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would announce the name of the prime ministerial candidate, the 19-year-old has not been seen or heard in public since he arrived in the capital on Thursday.

Finally, the announcement came in the form of a statement from Mr. Zardari.

The nomination of Mr. Gillani, a PPP leader from Multan in the Seraiki region of southern Punjab, is certain to be source of pride for the Seraiki, who are fiercely protective of their ethnic identity and have been demanding a separate province for themselves. The region is a PPP stronghold in the Muslim League-dominated province.

With the Muttahida Qaumi Movement deciding to support the PPP candidate for premiership, Mr. Zardari appears to have also outflanked any possible move by Mr. Fahim to form a breakaway group of the PPP in the Sindh province to join hands with the PML(Q)-MQM alliance for government formation in the province.

Left to its own devices, the PML(Q) announced that it would not leave the field open for the PPP in the premiership stakes, and would nominate its own candidate in the interests of the democratic process.

It is likely the party will name former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhary Pervez Elahi as its prime ministerial candidate.

The National Assembly has been convened on Monday, March 24, to elect the Prime Minister. The election is through a secret ballot in the lower House, and there is no doubt that Mr. Gillani will win the election with a thumping majority.

The new Prime Minister will be sworn in on Tuesday. The caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro was given a farewell guard of honour on Saturday.

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