Word: gilani
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Within moments of being chosen Prime Minister of Pakistan's newly elected parliament on Monday, Yusuf Raza Gilani enacted the first of what is expected to be many reversals of President Pervez Musharraf's actions over the past year. And it is setting the stage for what could be an ugly showdown between the country's democratic forces and the dictator, who is also a major U.S. ally...
Declaring that democratic institutions will be the bedrock of his tenure, Gilani ordered the immediate release of the Supreme Court judges who had been detained since Musharraf declared emergency rule on November 3, when he suspended the constitution. Thirteen Supreme Court judges and 48 other judges had been detained amid a crackdown on civil liberties. "I order all the detained judges to be released immediately," Gilani told the gathered parliamentarians after the national assembly voted the majority Pakistan People's Party stalwart in as premier. "Our slain leader Benazir Bhutto sacrificed her life for the cause of democracy...
...Tuesday, a grim-faced Musharraf administered Gilani's oath of office at the presidential palace. For Gilani it was a moment of triumph - in 2001 Musharraf imprisoned the longtime Bhutto supporter for nearly five years on corruption charges. After the ceremony Musharraf told state-owned television that he would "always extend my fullest cooperation" to Gilani and the new government. But he may find that the new government has other plans...
...Gilani is not the only member of the new power elite who has a grudge against Musharraf. Asif Ali Zardari, who heads the populist PPP, which dominates the ruling coalition and got the most votes in the February 18 elections, blames Musharraf in part for the assassination of his wife, two-time Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Nawaz Sharif, the head of the Pakistan Muslim League, which was the second largest vote gainer, was deposed by Musharraf in 1999, and forced into exile...
...court recently dismissed the last of those charges, opening the way for Zardari to contest a by-election, join parliament and perhaps become Prime Minister himself down the line. Some PPP insiders say he may prefer to continue as party leader, wielding power from behind the scenes; others believe Gilani's premiership will be short-lived and that Zardari will take over. Much will depend on how the PPP and its coalition partners fare in the coming months as the new government takes on the difficult job of running one of the world's most dangerous countries...