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WEEKLY
SECTIONS |
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| Malik likely to become interior minister |
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Friday, March 13, 2009
By Muhammad Saleh Zaafir
ISLAMABAD: The government is considering to replace the Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer within a week and abolish the office of the adviser to the prime minister on interior as Rehman Malik will be picked up as a federal minister.
Malik himself wanted to become a minister instead of staying on as an adviser. Former senator and eminent jurist Akbar Khawaja is the front runner for the office of the governor. Some other names are also under consideration for the slot.
Talking to The News, sources said the change of the Punjab governor was taking place in the backdrop of the decision made by the prime minister to facilitate the establishment of government in the province of the party that enjoyed majority in the provincial assembly.
The governor recommended imposition of his rule in the province and attained a highly-controversial status since the governor’s rule was clamped, which created enormous problems for the country. It would not be possible for the provincial administration to work comfortably with Taseer as governor.
The decision of change had been taken in the interest of good governance, which had been the hallmark of policies of the prime minister, the sources said.
The sources added that the Wednesday’s meeting between Prime Minister Gilani and Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani paved the way for resolving the situation, since the armed forces were visibly perturbed on the current upheaval. The international community has also raised its voice on the untoward developments, the sources said.
The sources said the PPP leadership had also come to the conclusion that its alliance with the PML-Q would not be able to form a comfortable government in the Punjab, since the forward bloc members were not prepared to return to the party’s fold.
The sources close to the Punjab governor and the adviser on interior have denied any change. “We enjoy the confidence of the president and in these circumstances, there is no change in the air,” they said.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
