News
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Mukhtar, Qureshi, Gillani in run for premiership
* Top slot likely to go to Punjab to avoid Sindh power concentration
By Rana Qaisar
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is most likely to nominate its candidate for the slot of prime minister from the Punjab and top contenders for the position are Ahmad Mukhtar, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Yousaf Raza Gillani. Although Amin Fahim was pronounced the PPP’s parliamentary leader after the death of Benazir Bhutto, insiders said a consensus could not be built in the party on his candidature. “It seems he (Fahim) is out of the race,” an insider close to PPP Co-chairman Asif Zardari told Daily times. Top slot: The reason for the change of heart is that Zardari also belongs to Sindh. If Fahim is nominated for the slot of PM, the party’s top hierarchy would belong to only one province and Punjab will be neglected at a time when the party needs to be strengthened in the province. But Zardari is not dropping any hints about the PPP’s candidate because he is assessing the political situation and analysing the ground realities. Following a disagreement in the party on Fahim’s candidature, Ahmad Mukhtar, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Yousaf Raza Gillani have started lobbying for the top slot. “All these three candidates are PPP loyalists and choosing one of them will be a strategic decision,” a PPP source privy to the latest development said. Qureshi and Gillani belong to southern Punjab where the party is already strong. But the leadership is of the view that the PPP needs to be strengthened in central Punjab. “This is why the name of Ahmad Mukhtar came up and he had a meeting with Zardari on Friday,” the source said, adding that his qualification for the top slot was that he had defeated PML-Quaid President Shujaat Hussain in the latter’s stronghold. Qureshi is Cambridge educated and without any blot on his character. And like Fahim, he has also resisted pressure from different quarters to switch loyalty. Gillani is a former NA speaker and has suffered in jail for a long time. But like Qureshi, he also belongs to southern Punjab.
Courtesy Daily Times