Advisor versus Assistant must end in Foreign Ministry
Poor Nawaz Sharif is what one must say when one takes a look at what has become of his attempt to keep the foreign ministry to himself. Sharif’s move to head the foreign ministry as the prime minister was praised for Sharif’s guts in trying to take foreign affairs away from the control of the defence establishment and into civilian hands.But the move seems to have backfired. With Sharif deciding to appoint one advisor, Sartaj Aziz, and one assistant, Tariq Fatemi, the affairs of the foreign ministry have become a tussle between the two men, with the younger appearing to desire more power for himself than he has been ascribed. The two men appear not to have the same approach, with the older a much more experienced and statesmen-like, and the younger appearing gung-ho and ready to pull the trigger at moment’s notice.
While the Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Chaudhry has tried to downplay the reports of a rift by claiming, “They are both working as a team in their respective positions,” it is in fact what constitutes the position each wields that is the matter of the dispute. Fatemi, in a statement issued on June 8 summoning the US Charge d’Affaires over drone attacks, had his designation noted as Special Assistant to Prime Minister and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. The title ‘Minister of State’ was later omitted from the statement currently on the ministry’s website. Mr Fatemi’s profile later circulated among the media by the spokesman’s office said he enjoyed the rank of “Federal Minister of State”, a designation unknown in the hierarchy of the government. Later a cabinet division notification noted that Aziz enjoyed the status of federal minister while Fatemi would serve as minister of state.
The nature of the dispute is also more than who enjoys what delegations. Aziz, the wiser head, was reported to have expressed his concerns over how Fatemi handled the protest over drones. Such matters are routinely handled at the foreign secretary’s level and Aziz was of the view that Fatemi’s hardline would go against the PML-N government’s efforts to develop good relations with the Obama administration. The question has become over who wields control over the Foreign Office. The dispute has also reportedly flown into who would lead the delegation to meet visiting German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle at the Foreign Office, with Fatemi asserting his authority in the matter. Surely the signs are that the arrangement will lead to a dysfunctional foreign ministry and Nawaz Sharif needs to reconsider the wisdom of his decision to appoint too many cooks to manage the brew. If the turf war between Aziz and Fatemi is allowed to continue it shall come to hurt national interest. Either the spheres of power of the two need to be clarified at the earliest, and if that doesn’t work, the younger Fatemi who has no experience of running a foreign ministry, should be sent packing.
Appointing Fatemi to this position was Mian Sahib's first critical error of judgement. Anyone involved with the foreign ministry will tell you that fatemi is blindly ambitious but with mediocre abilities.he is also temperamental, brusque and lacking in elementary diplomatic courtesies. His is, however a gifted opportunist and a sycophant par excellence.he has the unmatched ability to worm his way into the good books of the powerful through a judicious mixture of flattery and servility. His oppointment clearly indicates that the elder Sharif has not learnt much from his previous travails. Evidently khushamad retains its allure in the court of nawab sharif. He needs a mature, stable and wise hand in the FO, not a fawning careerist. Sadly for democracy Mian' s days look numbered on this occasion too.
In other words Fatmi has all the qualities Nawaz Sharif is looking for.
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