On Monday, the Pakistani Supreme Court struck down a requirement introduced by the government of President Pervez Musharraf that parliamentary candidates must hold a Bachelors degree. The News reported today, “A seven-member larger bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, while hearing the petition filed against the condition of graduation degree, abolished it by declaring it as against the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution.”
The NY Times reported on the development in light of the speculations surrounding PPP co-chairman, Asif Ali Zardari. The article noted, “The action clears the way for Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto and leader of the major party in the new governing coalition, who has indicated that he might run for a seat in Parliament in May and, it is expected, look to assume the post of prime minister. While he claims to have a degree, there have been questions over whether he finished his studies.”
Recent developments have presumably been paving the way for Zardari’s road to the premiership. On April 10th, [see related post], a Sindh High Court judge cleared Zardari of charges of conspiracy and murder of his brother-in-law Murtaza Bhutto’s murder case, the last case against him in the local courts. The development further cleared the way for the PPP co-Chairman to stand for the upcoming bi-parliamentary elections, which could inevitably lead to his premiership. The ambiguity surrounding the future of this position was further compounded during current Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani‘s recent interview with Newsweek. When asked, “How long do you expect to remain in office in view of Zardari’s recent comment that he would become premier if the need arose,” Gilani responded,
“The PPP is a very democratic party with roots in all four provinces. We have decided to separate the party and the government offices. I’m PPP vice chairman, but I don’t attend party meetings. The party formulates the policies, and the government implements the policies. I’m here because of the party, and I’ll be here as long as the party wishes me to be.”
Prominent PPP member and current Information Minister Sherry Rahman sought to dismiss these speculations Sunday, when she told the Daily Times that Zardari only indicated he would become the Prime Minister “if need be,” adding, “Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani was elected unanimously. Zardari was talking about the future, not present.” Despite her efforts to counter these rumors, the future roles of both Zardari and PML-N head Nawaz Sharif continue to remain ambiguous, although Pakistaniat noted yesterday that the intentions of Sharif appear to be much more clear, as Nawaz, Shahbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz “are all ready to file their nomination papers and have made quite clear that once elected they will run the show – at least in the Punjab – directly.”
The question is, of course, whether these ambitions and other disagreements will fracture the current ruling coalition government. Currently, the two parties were reportedly in a deadlock over the judicial issue, “as the PPP was reluctant to restore Iftikhar Chaudhry as Supreme Court Justice, and some reports suggested Sharif’s aides could resign from cabinet.” Reuters cited PPP party sources, who told the news agency, “Chaudhry’s defiance of Musharraf made him a cause celebre, but while the PPP leadership has stood up for the independence of the judiciary it has reservations about some individual judges, including Chaudhry.” The news agency added, “Analysts say the PPP is worried that some judges could take up challenges to a pardon Musharraf granted in October that wiped out corruption cases against Bhutto and Zardari, among others.” Despite these reports, both party leaders have sought to downplay any differences that remained over this issue. On Tuesday, Zardari and Sharif vowed to honor their commitment to reinstate the judges, asserting in a joint statement that any differences over the issue would not break their alliance. [Image retrieved from The News]
