Pakistan: New Prime Minister To Take Oath Within Ten Days

New prime minister of Pakistan is likely to take oath within ten days as President Pervez Musharraf has hinted at the possibility of convening new parliament in the very near future. Top leadership of Pakistan People's Party, which got majority in National Assembly is finding hard to announce the name for the post of prime minister. Differences apparently emerged in the PPP over selection of prime minister.

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said Friday he would convene the country's new parliament within ten days and vowed his full support to the incoming coalition government. Speaking at the opening of Rs 1.2 billion water-supply project for Jacoabad district headquarter town in Sindh province, the constituency of caretaker prime minister Mohammadmian Soomro, President Musharraf said the international community recognised that he had fulfilled his pledge to hold free and fair elections.

“The national and provincial assemblies sessions will be called in a week or one and half weeks. There will be no hurdle to this,” state-run Pakistan television showed him as saying. “I promise if peace is maintained, I will fully support the new coalition governments,” Musharraf said, without elaborating. Musharraf said that moderate forces. “All political parties should demonstrate prudence and focus on governance and this is possible only if all of them demonstrate peace,” Musharraf said. The new federal and provincial governments should also sustain the process of development and fight the scourge of extremism and terrorism, he added.

Accordint to a Pashto language newspaper Hewad, the PPPP won majority seats in the centre and a clear majority in Sindh, and performed better in NWFP and Balochistan in the Feb 18 elections. The party has to form its government in the centre and coalition governments in the provinces. All eyes are set on the leadership of the party…regarding the nominee for the premiership of the country.

The decision was expected soon after the election results were announced but was delayed for reasons best known to PPP’s leaders.

The common people of Pakistan hope to see Makhdoon Amin Fahim for many reasons. Firstly, he was in charge of the party when the late Ms Bhutto was in exile and her spouse, Asif Ali Zardari, was in prison.

Secondly, his style of politics is acceptable to the people at large, including the people of smaller provinces.

At this point, the top job must go to a person who can bring about reconciliation in the fractured environment of the country. Amin Fahim fulfils this criterion more than any body else in the PPPP cadres and seems acceptable to the people of all four provinces.

A different choice may frustrate the public, which will not bode well for reconciliatory politics in Pakistan.

The decision to nominate the next PM must be taken with the future of the country in mind. Any decision that overlooks such a pre-requisite will mar future political dispensation and reconciliation in the country.

Meanwhile, terrorists have been carrying out their activities with great speed. Three security officials were killed and 20 were injured in a suicide attack on a levies post in Bajaur yesterday. This was a day after the suicide attack on a funeral procession in Mingora, which killed 50 people and 100 were seriously injured.

It was hoped that the present year would be more peaceful than last year, and hence the date for the general elections was announced. The first month of the present year saw three suicide attacks which killed 44 security officials and some civilians, but the month of February began with a series of suicide attacks. The one at the ANP election meeting in Charsadda left 25 dead. Two days later, another attack in North Waziristan killed eight people. Another strike in Parachinar had 47 casualties…. A brief respite was experienced only during the elections.

Although the people of Pakistan decided to vote against Gen Musharraf’s party, the victorious parties, despite their show of strength, have yet to be invited to form their government in Islamabad and other provinces. Gen Musharraf was advised by many to resign but he continued to stay as the ruler in Islamabad. Several observers believe that the only way to deal with terrorism is to leave the matter to the elected representatives of the people. Gen Musharraf and his party failed on so many fronts, especially in establishing lasting peace and security across the country. We, therefore, urge the president to invite the winning parties to form their government. A democratic government is badly needed to deal with the issue of terrorism.
The End