Opinion Reassembling the cabinet

The Express Tribune reported on February 11: “As President Asif Ali Zardari… accepted resignations of outgoing ministers,speculation increased… on the names that would make it to the new set-up — believed to be smaller and more disciplined than the oversized cabinet it replaces… the president would administer oath to members of the incoming cabinet,possibly as early as Friday. The PPP… authorised PM Gilani to dissolve his cabinet and form a new one with ‘fewer and more honest’ members.”

War of nerves

Bilateral relations between Pakistan and the US could well take a sharp turn,suggest reports in Pakistan’s papers. Pakistan refuses to budge from its stance on handing over Raymond Davis to the US,an employee of the American consulate in Lahore accused of murdering two Pakistani nationals. Dawn reported on February 7: “The US ambassador to Pakistan pressed the country’s president… to release Davis,who Washington says was illegally detained after he shot and killed two men in Lahore.”

The wife of one of the two deceased committed suicide,reported Dawn on February 7: “the 26-year old widow had taken insecticide… after learning Davis would be handed over to the US… without trial… She had told newsmen gathered at the hospital: ‘The killer is being treated as a guest at the police station. I need justice and blood for the blood of my husband’.”

A Congressional delegation that visited Pakistan last week to secure Davis’s release reportedly suggested that Pakistan’s stand on Davis could hurt its coffers. The News reported on February 8: “US lawmakers threatened… to cut aid to Pakistan unless it freed Davis… The US has already warned that high-level dialogue would be at risk unless Pakistan releases Davis… ‘It is imperative they release him and there is certainly the possibility there would be repercussions if they don’t,’ Representative John Kline,a Republican from Minnesota,told reporters on his return (from Islamabad). ‘It’s entirely possible that a member of Congress would come down and offer an amendment to cut funding for Pakistan based on their detaining Davis… My guess is there would be a lot of support for such an amendment,frankly,because of the outrage of detaining an American with diplomatic immunity.”

“The Supreme Court was moved to “immediately take custody of Davis… and to ensure his fair trial by transferring his case to a high court outside Punjab,” reported The News on February 8.

Talks to talk

“Pakistan and Indian foreign secretaries met in Thimphu… but failed to set any dates for the resumption of peace talks between the two countries,” reported Daily Times on February 7. An editorial in Dawn on February 8 stated: “There is nothing to mourn,just as there is hardly anything to rejoice about regarding the outcome of Sunday’s meeting in Thimphu between the Pakistani and Indian foreign secretaries.”

Staff turbulence

Pakistan’s ailing national airline,the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) came to a grinding halt this week. The News reported on February 7: “The flight operation of the PIA came to a near halt on Tuesday after employees went on a strike and blocked entrances of major airports… Scuffles also broke out between the workers associated with rival unions,which stand apart on the question of demanding the resignation of MD Aijaz Haroon,who sent home eight pilots on charges of misconduct. The latest setback for the PIA came at a time when it… is trying to bolster revenues through a code-share agreement with Turkish Airlines — a move bitterly opposed by the Council of Employees of PIA.” The Express Tribune explained the case on February 11: “PIA’s decision to give up its passengers to Turkish Airlines will turn the national carrier into a ‘travel agency’,president of the Pakistan Airline Pilots’ Association,Captain Sohail Baluch said… PIA signed a MoU with Turkish Airlines on December 29 last year to share their passengers for Europe and Asia flights. Baluch said that by entering into this agreement,PIA was giving up all its profitable routes to Turkish Airlines.”

Further trouble

Former president Pervez Musharraf has been declared an “absconder in Benazir Bhutto assassination case… He would be declared proclaimed offender if he fails to appear before the court,” reported The News on February 8.