PM slot sandwiched between govt, mly

ISLAMABAD - President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari and the civil-military establishment are not on the same page regarding the nomination of future prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), inside sources aware of the developments told TheNation on Saturday. The President Asif Ali Zardari who is also the Co-Chairman of PPP has given a green signal to Chaudhry Abdul Majeed as the next state prime minister. Zardari, who is in London, telephoned Ch Abdul Majeed and asked him to arrange a press conference in Islamabad for the purpose. Also, the Majeed group comprising Ch Yaseen, Ch Latif Akbar and Matloob Inqlabi held dozens of closed door meetings with Faryal Talupur, a sister of Asif Ali Zardari, on the formation of government in AJK, sources added. Moreover, the sources said that on the special direction of Faryal Talpur Ch Abdul Majeed along with key members of his group visited Nodero, Larkana. Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khursheed Shah arranged a press conference in Sukkur and Faryal Talpur arranged another press conference for the visiting group in Nodero,Larkana. Sources added that the military establishment and Minister for Kashmir Affairs Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo were supporting Barrister Sultan Mehmood for the prime minister slot. But Barrister Sultan has a very week position within the party. Only four elected MLAs Ch Arashd, Afsar Shahid, Ch Rashid and Akhtar Rubbani are supporting him. So his nomination is impossible if democratic way is adopted to nominate the future premier in AJK. The establishment believes that Barrister Sultan is the right person to promote the Kashmir cause internationally. However, majority of the elected members of legislative assembly are supporting Ch Abdul Majeed as they believe that Ch Abdul Majeed was proven loyalist of the PPAJK. And same is the stance of President Asif Ali Zardari, sources maintained. It would be relevant to mention here that during the nomination of chief executive of Gilgit-Baltiistan, Prince Agha Karim Khan recommended a particular person, which was also endorsed by the establishment. However, President Zardari rejected all the pressure and nominated a party worker Mehdi Shah. Even Mehdi Shah himself was not expecting such high profile portfolio. When contacted, Barriste Sultan Mehmood said that decision over future prime minister will be taken by Asif Zardari after he returns from London on July 6. This scribe could not contact Ch Abdul Majeed for he was traveling from Karachi to Islamabad.