PM in two minds over next Punjab governor

• Oath taking ceremony of Chaudhry Saud Majeed delayed as PM considers other options amid pressure from senior leaders and some family members
• Atta ul Haq Qasmi and Raja Zafarul Haq also being considered for position

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has delayed the oath-taking ceremony of his close aide Chaudhry Saud Majeed as the new governor of Punjab after facing strong opposition from within his family and close friends. The indecision has triggered a new wave of consultations within Raiwand and a new candidate is being shortlisted for the post. Former Punjab governor Chaudhry Sarwar resigned from his position following his criticism of the Punjab government and their alleged support for land grabbers and mafia. Sarwar had also criticised the PML-N government for failing to convince the US administration to ensure President Barack Obama’s visit to Islamabad at the same time he visited India. Sarwar’s resignation was a matter of great controversy and resultantly the prime minister had to ask Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana Mohammad Iqbal to take charge of the Governor’s House as a stopgap arrangement.

A source in the top leadership of PML-N suggested that last week Saud Majeed’s name had almost been finalised and he had been given a signal for oath taking, which was originally supposed to take place on Friday. “However, the prime minister postponed the ceremony later due to unknown reasons,” the source said, adding that the formal announcement for the next governor would most probably be made once the candidates for the upcoming Senate elections are finalised. The source said that pressure from the Kashmiri group comprising Khawaja Asif, Khawaja Saad Rafique, and some family members, had resulted in the delay in the oath taking. “Actually, after governor Chaudhry Sarwar, the Sharif family is upset and they are not ready to trust a politician who is ‘his own man’.

There is a group which wants the appointment of Chaudhry Saud Majeed who has equally good ties with the prime minister as well as Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif,” the source said. The source said that Saud Majeed was important because he hailed from Bahawalpur and Nawaz Sharif wanted to follow the precedence set by PPP Co-Chairman Asif Zardari to give governorship to Bahawalpur. Asif Zardari had appointed Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmud as governor to quell unrest among the people of South Punjab following a movement launched by Senator Mohammad Ali Durrani for the restoration of the provincial status of the Bahawalpur state. “Saud isn’t just from South Punjab, he is also a settler actually who hails from central Punjab. Saud is also very close to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif due to the services he had given to the Sharif family when they were sent into exile to Saudi Arabia by Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf,” the source said.

The source said that though Shahbaz Sharif and Chaudhry Nisar were also supporting Saud Majeed for the post, it was difficult for the premier to ignore those who were opposing Saud’s nomination and wanted a retired judge or bureaucrat from central Punjab, preferably from Lahore, to be appointed as the next governor. “To be specific, the Kashmiri group wants the appointment of Atta ul Haq Qasmi for the prime slot. He is also being advocated by a group of journalists who are close to the prime minister,” the source added.

However, the source informed Pakistan Today that the prime minister was still not convinced. “A new name has also been thrown in, and a strong group within the party wants the appointment of senior Muslim Leaguer Raja Zafarul Haq as governor. However, there are many within the party who think that the veteran Raja could not be trusted due to his alleged links with the Establishment. Moreover, Raja himself is more interested in the slot of Senate chairman and not a place at the Governor’s House,” the source said. It remains to be seen how these events will unfold and who will eventually find his way into the governor’s shoes and ergo the Governor House.