Pakistani lawmakers on Friday elected a ruling party loyalist with a checkered past as prime minister, restoring government to the country after days of political turmoil.
However, the election of Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was unlikely to calm the tensions roiling the country, and many predicted he would face the same fate as his predecessor, who was ousted earlier this week.
Ashraf was the second choice to replace Yousuf Raza Gilani, who was dismissed by the Supreme Court earlier this week for refusing to initiate a corruption investigation against Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.
The ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) then nominated outgoing textile minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin, but he was hit on Thursday by an arrest warrant for his role in a drug import scandal. The warrant was issued by an anti-narcotics force run by the military, which wields political power and has staged three coups in Pakistan’s short history.
The PPP and its coalition partners elected Ashraf prime minister by a vote of 211 to 89. Supporters thumped their hands on their desks in a show of support, while PPP members in the balcony chanted “Long Live Bhutto” in homage to the party’s founder, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Speaking to lawmakers after his election, Ashraf said the economy, the power crisis and inflation were his main priorities.
“Our country cannot afford politics of confrontation at this time,” he said.
The Gilani government, widely criticized as corrupt and inept, has done nothing to fix the country’s problems.
Ashraf said he wanted to deal with the US on an equal footing. Speaking in English in an otherwise Urdu-language speech, he also said there would be no peace in Pakistan without peace in Afghanistan.
The government’s term was scheduled to end in March next year, but it was now expected to end sooner because of the pressures on the coalition. A senior PPP member, Khursheed Shah, said earlier on Friday that he expected general elections to be held this year.
Ashraf was expected to face the same demand from the Supreme Court — a panel of activist judges — to act on the corruption case against Zardari.
The case was initially heard by Swiss legal authorities in the 2000s and dates back to allegations that Zardari laundered state money there in the decade before that.
Critics say that by pressing the case, the court is taking on a political role, threatening the democratic process in a country where elected governments have traditionally been squeezed by the army, often in league with a partisan court. Court supporters say activist judges are needed to keep a check on corruption and government misuse of power.
Ashraf was head of the water and power ministry for three years, an unpopular position in a country where daily blackouts in the steamy summer can be as long as 22 hours. Pakistanis ridiculed him for repeatedly claiming the power crisis would be over by “December” only to have conditions get worse the next summer.
He has been accused of corruption relating to power projects. Ashraf oversaw the import of short-term power stations, or “rental power” projects that cost the government millions of dollars, but produced little energy. The policy earned him the nickname “Raja Rental” in the Pakistani media and opponents could be heard shouting the nickname on Friday in the vast parliament hall.
Politician Rehman Malik said the courts and law enforcement are focused on targeting politicians and not criminals. Malik himself was suspended by the Supreme Court from the parliament over allegations he has dual nationality. He lost his minister of interior post, but was then appointed adviser to Gilani.
Analysts said the PPP likely chose Ashraf because they knew he wouldn’t last long in office.
“He is a cynical choice by the PPP. Whoever takes over as prime minister will be in for a very short time,” said Raza Rumi, director of the Islamabad-based Jinnah Institute. “Obviously the PPP will not choose its best for this stint. They will choose people who can be dispensed with.”
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