Ayaz On Zardari-Gilani Rift

Somewhere in this twilight zone betwixt darkness and light, Gilani began to show a streak of independence no one would have suspected him of possessing. To the annoyance of the Presidency, a sentiment now resembling something close to rage, Gilani began to assert himself, getting rid of his principal secretary, Siraj Shamsuddin, someone considered close to Zardari, and making some other key appointments reportedly without clearance from the Presidency. Islamabad began to circulate with rumours that all was not well between the president and his handpicked prime minister.

But the sacking of the national security adviser, Maj-Gen (retd) Mahmud Ali Durrani, has brought this simmering discontent into the open, leaving nothing to the imagination. While speaking to an Indian TV channel, Durrani said that Ajmal Kasab, the lone Mumbai gunman in Indian custody, was a Pakistani national. The prime minister was livid because he had not been taken into confidence. Without consulting President Zardari he ordered Durrani's sacking. I have it on good authority that Zardari called Durrani and apologised to him over the manner of his dismissal. But the point remains that he could do nothing about it.

Gilani cannot be shown the door by Zardari as Jamali was by Musharraf because Gilani will have support, and more of it if put to the test, from across the political divide in the National Assembly. The PPP parliamentary party will not rise up against Zardari. This is a foolish dream. But it will not pull down Gilani. Sacking the National Assembly is no option because that would plunge the country into turmoil and end Zardari's political career.

So he must put up with Gilani as best he can. He has amassed a great deal of power but this is about it. Limitless ambition is a bad thing, undeserved ambition even more so. And let's not forget the ace up Gilani's sleeve. If pushed too far he has only to say it on the floor of the National Assembly and it will be curtains for the Dogar Supreme Court. Provided of course Gilani doesn't lose heart and has the sense to understand the position of strength in which events unwittingly have placed him.