Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was inches away from replacing incumbent Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in the heat of the recent judiciary-executive standoff that shook the fragile coalition here.
“Prime Minister Gilani acted like a tactician to avert being sent home. He was just down and out before he rebounded”, a close aide of President Asif Ai Zardari, co-chairman of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, told this newspaper. This is not the first time that Mr Qureshi came close to clinching the top executive post: he was runner-up when the PPP nominated Mr Gilani for the job after the 2008 election.
The source said President Zardari had virtually agreed to the change, which would have made Mr Qureshi “the new face” of the Pakistan government.
But Mr Gilani, who emerged as a “man of consensus”, played his cards well and totally changed the unfolding events, the source added. Suggestions had been made in a number of quarters about a change in the leadership, pointing out that Mr Qureshi had developed a better understanding with the international community, particularly the United States and Europe. As foreign minister, he had also made himself acceptable to the ruling establishment and the PPP leadership.
It was widely noted that Mr Gilani had appeared defensive when he said in Lahore on September 18 that “even if I do not remain in power, I will still be the son of Hazrat Ghousul Azam (a revered saint).”
Under the changeover plan, finance minister Hafeez Sheikh was to become deputy prime minister with full powers to bail out the national economy from its present ills. He also had the full backing of all stakeholders.
In the fast-changing situation, even commerce minister Makhdoom Amin Faheem also started lobbying for himself as a potential candidate for the top job, but the presidential camp was not ready to accept him as Prime Minister.
Reports suggested that Mr Gilani was constantly under pressure from the presidential lobby and was not taking a clear line against the Opposition. It was also said he was gradually falling into what they called the “trap” of the rival Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz). Zardari loyalists also feared that if he thought his departure was imminent, Mr Gilani could dissolve the National Assembly, paving the way for mid-term elections.
Knowledgeable circles here say while the talk of replacing Mr Gilani has died down temporarily, the possibility of Mr Qureshi taking over the reins cannot be ruled out, specially if the judiciary-executive row takes on an ugly colour.
The Supreme Court has given the government time until October 13 to implement the verdict on the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance, under which corruption cases against many politicians and bureaucrats, including President Zardari, were withdrawn.
The judiciary-executive standoff also led to rumours that a military coup could be imminent, endangering the country’s fragile democracy, though Army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani gave the government a categorical assurance that the military would not intervene. The Army has ruled Pakistan directly for over half its existence as a nation since 1947.