July 1, 2004 ☼ Foreign Affairs
This is an archived blog post from The Acorn.
Kamran Shafi, the every-angry Pakistani columnist asks a very pertinent question. If Musharraf wanted Shaukat Aziz to succeed Zafarullah Jamali as prime minister, what was the need to put Shujaat Hussain as an interim but non-caretaker prime minister?
Only two hours after the nomination of the brilliance from Gujrat, and as a sign of even better good governance, we were told that the Wonder Boy-Superman-Batman-Captain Marvel of the Pakistani economy, the private banker turned economist (nobody knows how) Shaukat Aziz would follow Shujaat Hussain as prime minister as soon as a safe seat for his election to the national assembly had been found, but no later than three months from present events! Leaving us gasping for breath because of the prospect of seeing three prime ministers in the space of twelve weekends, and making us the laughingstock of the world yet again.
For what was the whole point in sacking one non-PM and putting in another as a stopgap for a third? Why did those that counsel the General take this country through these contortions when it doesn’t know whether it is coming or going as it is? Poor Mr Jamali was hardly a threat to the General and his unfolding handiwork. [Daily Times]Mullah Military Alliance
The alliance between Musharraf and the religious parties in parliament seems to be stronger that what is usually perceived. The MMA did not support Amin Fahim, the opposition’s candidate citing ideological differences with Benazir Bhutto’s party. Their claim that they would have supported Nawaz Sharif’s party candidate (the jailed Javed Hashmi) is vacuous because Nawaz Sharif’s party itself threw its weight behind Amin Fahim.
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