LAHORE - The Sharif brothers are reluctant to make Sindhi nationalist Mumtaz Bhutto the new governor of Sindh, keeping in view the negative signal it will convey to the PPP and other political forces. Sources in the PML-N said Mumtaz was the most interested candidate in becoming the governor Sindh. Mumtaz, a cousin of Benazir Bhutto, also considered as an arch rival of President Asif Zardari, was in the city a few days ago. He had to meet Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif not available due to his busy schedule. Prior to this meeting, he also held a meeting with Nawaz soon after he took oath as prime minister. In these meetings, Mumtaz advocated a very hawkish line against the Bhutto family. The sources said he advised the Sharifs to reinvestigate the murder of Benazir and make efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice. According to Mumtaz, these steps would promote the PML-N’s image in Sindh while dealing a body blow to the PPP’s image in their heartland. The party sources said Nawaz was not in the mood to accommodate Mumtaz given the move’s political implications. The prime minister believes that any such move would mean that the PML-N was opening a front against the PPP. “It will give a very bad signal to the PPP and other political forces. Our leader is not interested in picking fights and creating instability in the country right now,” a senior PML-N member said. On the other hand, patience is wearing thin with Mumtaz after finding the Sharifs unresponsive to his line of action on Sindh. Recently, he issued a statement to the effect that he was going to revive his party which had merged with the PML-N. Later, he retracted his statement as being misquoted by the TV reporter. Nawaz is due to appoint new governors in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but he does not seem to be in any hurry. A senior PML-N leader confided in Pakistan Today that Nawaz will make major changes after September when President Zardari completed his term and there would be a PML-N man in the Presidency. “It will be the time when Nawaz is likely to make the appointments,” he said. However, President Asif Zardari has no intention to confront the government and is mostly seen signing on the dotted line since the new government took over. “Even if President Zardari is there in the Presidency, Nawaz should not have any problem in making changes or have his way. Zardari is least interested in meddling in the government’s affairs,” a political analyst commented. - See more at: pakistantoday.pk/2013/07/04/news/national/the-sharifs-not-ready-to-make-mumtaz-bhutto-sindh-governor/#sthash.nQdJBFm6.dpuf
Posted on: Sat, 03 Aug 2013 08:24:56 +0000
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