Bringing speculations to an end, the president has appointed Sardar Latif Khosa as the 27th governor of Punjab. The selection of the governor for the countrys largest province where the PML(N) and PPP have had an uneasy partnership was considered to be indicative of the mood prevailing in the federal government. The choice of Khosa, a soft-spoken PPP loyalist, shows that the federal government is keen to maintain good relations with the PML(N). This was also reflected in the initial remarks by the new governor who said he wanted to work for the improvement of ties between the two parties and being the constitutional head of the province he would consult with the Punjab government on matters related to the province and would be calling on Mian Nawaz Sharif soon. Coming as these do from a man known to be a trusted associate of President Zardari, the sentiments could not be dismissed simply as routine pleasantries. There is a lot of change, at least in atmospherics, with the nomination of the new governor which needs to be similarly responded to by the other side.
The PML(N) has, however, chosen to extend a somewhat cautious welcome to the new governor. While duly underlining that his party was not consulted over the appointment, Ahsan Iqbal maintained that the offices of both the president and governor need to remain non-political and that as long as the new governor acted strictly in line with the constitution, the party would have no beef with him. There are many who think it would be conducive to the improvement of ties between the two parties if the PML(N) was to reciprocate the friendly sentiments expressed by Governor Khosa.
Sardar Khosa is by no means a non-political appointment. In fact, nearly all assigned to the gubernatorial post in Punjab after Sir Francis Moodie, irrespective of whether they were civilians or army officers, were political appointees in the sense that they were supposed to look after, in the main, the interests of ruling party or the Martial Law regime. The governors appointed by the PML(N) were no exception. What one expects from a head of the province is that he would exert to maintain a balance and give the opposition no legitimate cause of being treated with partiality. However, what needs to be realised is that it takes two to tango.
