Musharraf’s days as PM may be numbered

In a sign of how fast political winds can change in a country that for six decades has seen its political system change violently between military and civilian rule, on Monday 24 members of newly elect Prime Minister of Pakistan - Yousaf Raza Gilani’s cabinet, were sworn by President Pervez Musharraf.

Eleven of the new ministers, belonged to assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s party, which won the most seats in the February 18 vote. A further nine were from the party of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif. All members of Sharif’s party wore black armbands as they were sworn in, to protest against Musharraf, whom they consider an unconstitutional president.

Of the other four, one was an independent member of parliament and three were from two junior coalition partners. The four-party coalition is made up of Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party, Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), the ethnic Pashtun-based Awami National Party and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam religious party.

However, there is strong speculation, according to Reuters reports - that the new government will force U.S. ally Musharraf, who came to power as a general in a 1999 coup, to quit within months or even, weeks.

Bhutto’s widower, Asif Ali Zardari, who succeeded her as leader of the Pakistan People’s Party, and Nawaz Sharif who was a powerful head of government until his ouster in Musharraf’s 1999 military coup, besides leading second-largest party in the anti-Musharraf front, have promised to reinstate deposed Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and his colleagues through a parliamentary resolution within 30 days of forming a government.

That is likely to trigger a show-down with Musharraf, who will fear the judges will resurrect constitutional challenges to his re-election last October.

The country’s new Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, responded to reporters, regarding rumors within Pakistani media and political circles that the United States could try to prop up Musharraf so that counterterrorism operations in the region are not disturbed by the changing of the guard in Islamabad. He said he “expected the international community to support democracy in Pakistan and help in strengthening its democratic institutions”.