ISLAMABAD – President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday appointed Latif Khosa governor of Punjab on the advice of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, indicating that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was not ready to leave the field open for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the province by appointing a neutral person.
While Khosa’s name had appeared in the media a couple of days ago, the president had held back the final decision for more consultations in view of the political situation in the Punjab. “The president, on the advice of the prime minister, approved the appointment of Latif Khosa as the Punjab governor,” a spokesman of the president said. The PML-N reacted to the appointment saying it had not been consulted. “The government did not consult with us nor did we give any advice,” PML-N Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal said.
Khosa is a senior advocate of the Supreme Court. He was an active member of the lawyers’ movement for the restoration of the sacked judges but after the PPP had won the 2008 elections and came into power he was one of those who had advised the president not to restore the judges. His appointment also suggests that the PPP government is not in the mood to reconcile with the judiciary. The PPP had appointed him attorney general after Justice (r) Malik Qayyum retired but was asked to resign when allegations of corruption were leveled against him in the Haris Steel Mills case. After his resignation as attorney general, he was appointed prime minister’s adviser on information technology with the status of a federal minister. He was again asked to resign from this position when all five directors of Universal Service Fund (USF) had resigned in protest against allegations of nepotism and corruption. Insiders said Gilani was not in favour of Khosa’s appointment as he had been removed twice from government offices and also because he would be a soft target for the PML-N. However, Khosa had played a critical role in dividing the lawyers in favour of the PPP government and with an equal support of his rival Babar Awan, who had also been contesting for the position of the Punjab governor, won the election of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA). Analysts say Khosa will try to avoid antagonising the PML-N to tamp down disputes that have paralysed the federal government.
Khosa had earlier said Zardari had called him along with Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar and Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh for a meeting in Karachi. “I will accept whatever the decision of my leadership,” he said.
