ISLAMABAD: As thousands of protesters blockaded Pakistan’s parliament last week, the spirits of the lawmakers inside were briefly lifted by a rare appearance from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
But Sharif only listened in silence as legislator after legislator denounced the protesters seeking his government’s resignation. He then stood up, and left through a back door.
Toppled in a 1999 coup, jailed and then exiled, Sharif made a triumphant comeback as prime minister for a third time in last year’s general election.
Voters had hoped he would prove better than a long line of prime ministers widely seen as feckless, and would shore up a sagging economy by tackling the chronic power cuts and crumbling infrastructure that bedevil the country of 180 million.
But critics say that his slow pace of reforms, apparent detachment and poor relations with the military emboldened his challengers and encouraged the anti-government protests.
“This is a symptom of arrogance and bad governance,” said independent senator Mohsin Leghari. “When issues are not discussed in parliament they spill out into the streets.”
That is what happened this month when opposition leader Imran Khan and firebrand cleric Tahir ul-Qadri led tens of thousands of supporters to the capital, Islamabad, to demand that he step down.
If the army referees a resolution of the stand-off, as many expect, it will emerge strengthened at the expense of the prime minister. That would deal a blow to civilian rule, a year after an election that marked the first democratic transfer of power in Pakistan’s coup-blighted history.
Many believe that Sharif, a wealthy steel magnate from Pakistan’s wealthiest and most populous province, has only himself to blame for his current crisis. Ordinary Pakistanis have not seen many improvements since he took office.
Apart from the annual budget, not a single law was passed in his first year, a legislative watchdog said. Draft legislation to tackle corruption and electoral reform - central demands of the protesters - has languished.
Fourteen months after Sharif’s election, key posts remain unfilled, and government regulators lack heads. There is still no foreign minister. Defence and the water and power ministries share a single minister, as do the information and law ministries.
A spokesman for Sharif, responding to questions for this, report, said these posts were being filled gradually as the government sought capable candidates.
REUTERS
