Importing a governor for Punjab

Does choice of governor show poverty of PML-N rank and file?

The post of the Punjab Governor is up for grabs. The post was given a chequered history in the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) period, Punjab governor appointees became famous for trading barbs with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmakers and the chief minister. With the PML-N now having its own prime minister, it can now replace former governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmud with its own man. The position of governor itself is largely symbolic, with the power reduced to being chancellor of universities and mandatory signing off on legislation, nonetheless the symbolic power attached to the post brings with it great weight and perks for many a party loyalists. Being nominated governor by the ruling party is still considered a ‘reward’ for someone’s loyalty to the party, and hence it has come as a surprise to both observers and party insiders that the name being touted for the Punjab Governor most, Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, has not even been in Pakistan for ages.

After Makhdoom’s resignation was accepted by the president on Tuesday, the PML-N leadership began to speculate about the next governor. The names of three PML-N senators, each respected for their services, were touted. These included Jaffar Iqbal, Zulfiqar Khosa and Rafiq Rajwana, with the party expected to choose a ‘docile’ person, perhaps something learned from their last tenure. But when it became clear that the preferred choice was Sarwar, the party ranks are said to have been enraged. Sarwar, a British citizen, arrived from the United Kingdom on Saturday to meet the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Sunday. On offer were either appointment as High Commissioner to the UK or the post of Punjab governor. Sarwar is said to have rejected the post of High Commissioner. He would have to give up his British citizenship to take up the post.

From the outset, Sarwar gives the appearance of a PML-N loyalist and has served as Labour Party MP in Glasgow for 13 years. In this sense Sarwar does come with the experience of being a legislator, but the appointment would be a slap on the party ranks. The question being asked by the PML-N ranks is: yes, Sarwar has served as a British member of parliament, yes, Sarwar is also a successful businessman, but should the post vacated by former governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmud not go to someone from the rank-and-file of the PML-N? Independent Senator Mohsin Khan Leghari has said that the Punjab cabinet has very few ministers from South Punjab and appointment of a ‘viceroy’ would create a sense of alienation and deprivation in the Southern Punjab region. While the post of chief minister has gone to Lahorites for the bulk of the last two decades, the symbolic post of governor has been given to someone from Southern Punjab to give the illusion of regional parity. But the PML-N has never been strong on regional parity or trusted its own ranks. Perhaps it is time that it gave the subject some consideration.