Court issues arrest warrant for Pakistani PM nominee

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (L) greets Pakistan's Federal Minister of Textile Industry Makhdoom Shahabuddin after the opening of the 16th Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Nusa Dua, in Indonesia's resort island of Bali, May 25, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Enny Nuraheni/Files

By Qasim Nauman

ISLAMABAD | Thu Jun 21, 2012 3:49pm IST

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A court has issued an arrest warrant for the ruling party veteran poised to replace Pakistan's ousted prime minister, local television stations reported on Thursday, deepening political uncertainty in the strategic U.S. ally.Pakistan's president had nominated Makhdoom Shahabuddin as the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) candidate in an apparent bid for continuity ahead of elections due early next year.
Shahabuddin, the textiles minister, filed his nomination papers on Thursday. The ruling coalition has a comfortable majority in parliament, which meets on Friday in an extraordinary session to elect a new prime minister.
In an unexpected twist to Pakistan's latest political saga, an anti-narcotics court issued an arrest warrant for Shahabuddin in connection with a case of violated quota limits for the export of ephedrine while he was health minister.
That case allegedly involved Gilani's son, Ali Musa Gilani, who is accused by anti-narcotics investigators of violating the quotas. Gilani and Shahabuddin have denied any wrongdoing.
It is unclear whether the arrest warrant will undermine Shahabuddin's nomination. The PPP has meanwhile nominated another candidate, former information minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, as a candidate for prime minister as well.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ineligible for office for refusing to re-open corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, triggering a new crisis in nuclear-armed Pakistan.
At the time, a senior aide to Gilani said only parliament could dismiss the prime minister, raising the possibility of a confrontation between the judiciary and government, but by nominating a new man the president has accepted the ruling and backed away from a fight.
PUBLIC FRUSTRATION
The new prime minister will face mounting public frustrations over a staggering range of problems, and a Supreme Court chief justice who prides himself on standing up to Pakistan's most powerful players.
Gilani's removal is likely to further heat up the Pakistani political arena, where the civilian leadership, the powerful military and the Supreme Court square off against each other at the expense of a public longing for stability and a stronger economy.
Pakistan's relations with the United States, which provides it with billions of dollars in aid, are at their lowest point in years.
Taliban militants still pose a major security threat, despite numerous army crackdowns. The economy is struggling and analysts predict Pakistan will again have to turn to the International Monetary Fund to keep it afloat.
Chronic power cuts, which triggered violent protests this week, show no signs of easing.
Shahabuddin, who enjoys smooth ties with coalition partners, was seen as a safe bet for the ruling Pakistan People's Party, which is gearing up for a general election due early next year.
But the former deputy finance minister will likely face the same pressures as did Gilani from Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry to reopen old corruption cases against Zardari.
Thousands of corruption cases were thrown out in 2007 by an amnesty law passed under former military president Pervez Musharraf, paving the way for a return to civilian rule.
Two years later, the Supreme Court ruled that agreement illegal, and ordered the re-opening of money laundering cases against Zardari that involved Swiss bank accounts.
Gilani and his government refused to obey the court's order to write to Swiss authorities asking them to look again at those cases, arguing that Zardari had immunity as the head of state.
The United States is hoping for stability in Pakistan so that Islamabad can engage Washington and work to improve ties damaged by a series of events, most recently a NATO cross-border raid in November which killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
Pakistan closed supply routes to NATO forces in Afghanistan to protest against the attack, and negotiations on re-opening the lines are deadlocked.

Arrest order for Pakistan's new prime minister

Pakistan's anti-drugs squad has ordered the arrest of the country's proposed new Prime Minister.


PAKISTAN'S anti-drugs squad has ordered the arrest of the country's proposed new Prime Minister, on the day he has lodged his application for the government's top job.

In another twist in Pakistan's chaotic governance, President Asif Ali Zardari yesterday nominated Makhdoom Shahabuddin to replace outgoing PM Yusuf Raza Gilani who was dismissed by the Supreme Court for contempt.

But, just minutes before Mr Shahabuddin put forward his nomination to lead the government, and the day before parliament was expected to confirm his ascension, the anti-narcotics force has ordered he be arrested over his connection to the illegal importation of ephedrine, used in making methamphetamine.

The case, too, relates to Mr Gilani. His son Ali Musa is accused of importing massive amounts of ephedrine illegally in 2009.

Mr Shahabuddin, who was health minister at the time, is alleged to have approved the imports. He denies wrongdoing.

Asked about the arrest warrant after filing his nomination, Mr Shahabuddin quoted a poem, saying he was unworried about ''hostile winds'' blowing against him.

But the warrant issued for him is ''non-bailable'', meaning, once arrested, he will be jailed until the case is finalised.

Information Technology Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira have also filed nominations, presumably as cover should Mr Shahabuddin go to jail.

But the warrant put out for the putative PM will only strengthen arguments in Pakistan that the government is being attacked by other state agencies, including the court and the military. Legal cases are routinely filed against Pakistani politicians by rivals as a means of weakening them.

The cases often drag on in the courts for years and the accused politicians enjoy prominent careers regardless.

Pakistan had expected to have a new prime minister by the end of today, but fresh confusion reigns.

The sacked prime minister, Mr Gilani, was found in contempt for refusing a court order to write a letter to Swiss authorities, allowing them to investigate $60 million grafted into a Swiss bank account controlled by President Zardari.

Mr Gilani argued that Mr Zardari, as head of state, enjoyed immunity.

''Nothing has been solved. The Supreme Court ruling [to dismiss Mr Gilani] has not resolved anything,'' political analyst Harris Khalique told The Age.

''Whoever is elected as the new prime minister, the court will demand they write to the Swiss authorities, and the same problem will arise.''

With elections at most nine months away, critics of the PPP, widely regarded in Pakistan as corrupt and incompetent, see the instability as a perfect chance to begin campaigning.

Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the main opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, and himself a former prime minister, held a rally in the Swat valley in the north-west province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday telling supporters the government had bankrupted the country.

''Gilani had to go home in shame … today, Pakistan is standing alone in the international community due to wrong policies of the present government. PPP plundered public wealth and transferred it to Swiss banks. We will bring public money back to the country.''