<i>New 'Mr No' of Pakistan</i>

The new prime minister of Pakistan has the distinction of saying a big no to both President Pervez Musharraf and late Benazir Bhutto many times. Yousuf Raza Gilani has always been loyal to his party but he is not a "yes man" and that is the quality which impressed PPP Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari a lot.
Zardari nominated Gilani for the post of prime minister because he is sure that his nominee will not take any dictation either from the president or from any powerful diplomat. Only Zardari can take the risk of bringing a defiant person to the office of prime minister who may one day say no even to him.
Zardari remembers that Gilani said no to his leader Benazir Bhutto twice when he was Speaker of the National Assembly from 1993 to 1996. Gillani issued the production orders of some opposition MPs in 1994 who were in jail. Prime Minister Benazir was not ready to implement the orders of her own Speaker. She wanted to punish Sheikh Rashid Ahmad who used filthy language against her many times. Gilani took a stand. He argued that his orders must be implemented, otherwise he will resign from the post. Finally his orders were implemented.
Next year opposition parties led by Nawaz Sharif scuffled with the treasury bench during the speech of President Farooq Leghari at the joint session of the parliament. Benazir sent her Attorney General Qazi Jamil to Gilani with the message that the Speaker must register a case with police against the opposition MPs for attacking the president.
Gilani politely declined it but the attorney general insisted again and again. Finally Gilani asked the attorney general to leave his office. He told the prime minister that he would not preside over the National Assembly as a protest. The resulting crisis lasted for 20 days.
The Intelligence Bureau reported to Bhutto that Speaker Gilani was in contact with opposition parties and hatching a conspiracy to become prime minister. Benazir sent that report to Gilani. He returned the file with the note that only time would prove his loyalty to the party. After that Benazir accepted Gilani's point of view and the crisis was resolved.
Benazir was impressed with the loyalty and courage of Gilani when he was arrested before the election of 2002. Tariq Aziz, a close aide of President Musharraf, visited him at Rawalpindi Central Jail and offered him release from jail in return for changing his loyalty but Gillani snubbed the offer. After the 2002 election many government officials visited him in jail and tried their best to persuade him to break away from the PPP but he remained defiant to Musharraf and loyal to Benazir Bhutto.
Just few weeks before the assassination of Benazir, Gilani was approached by the establishment to switch his loyalty for something big but he refused the offer too.
He is not different from his forefather Musa Pak Shaheed who was governor of Multan during the Mughal Empire. When Emperor Aurangzeb launched a campaign against his rebel brother Dara Shikoh, Musa Pak sided with the weak prince, Dara. Aurangzeb visited Musa Pak in Multan and asked him to stop supporting Dara. But he was defiant and lost his governorship as a result.
Zardari is sure that the descendant of Musa Pak will not take dictation from any local or foreign intelligence agency. He preferred Gilani to Makhdoom Amin Fahim because the latter was the darling of Pakistani establishment for many years. Musharraf offered the prime minister post to Makhdoom many times but Benazir never allowed him to accept the offer.
Zardari became suspicious about Makhdoom in January 2008 when he held a meeting with Musharraf without the knowledge of the party leadership. Gilani never entertained such invitations from top government officials.
Soft-spoken Gilani is committed to restoring the 1973 constitution in its true spirit which means that he will support any move to clip the powers of the president. He is the one who participated in rallies organised in support for the independence of the judiciary. He became the target of Musharraf regime after he supported deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
A scandalous video clip was posted on YouTube but Gilani never gave up. He is determined to find a middle way to restore the deposed judges. He does not want any immediate clash with the president who is still staying in the Army House.
Gilani will also not blindly follow the war-against-terror policy of Musharraf. He believes that the army must stop military operations in the tribal areas and the government must start a genuine peace initiative with the militants. Gilani has said it many times recently that "if we can talk to India, why not talk to our own people?".
Zardari has assured Yousuf Raza Gilani that he will run the affairs of Pakistan for five years, not for three months. Zardari is aware that his "Mr No" will be a problem for President Musharraf, not for him.