March 25, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 16, 1429

It was a no-holds-barred sloganeering that marked the election of the first ever non-Bhutto, Yusuf Raza Gilani, as the PPP Prime Minister of Pakistan. Never before had the National Assembly seen such spirited atmosphere and thunderous applause. The house, the galleries, the corridors—everybody and everything was afire with emotions.Old-timers resented the way parliamentary decorum was breeched. But then who cared. Even many amongst the normally neutral press cadres rose up to join the raucous.

It was a one-of-its-kind show of emotional outburst where most people did not even know why and what they were doing and for whom. It was a mish-mash of intense feelings of joy and sadness at the same time.

It was the celebration for the first-ever victory of popular forces over the establishment-backed regime. And yet it was also mourning for the loss of Benazir Bhutto.

It was the explosion of pent-up anger against the president and yet it was also the festivity over the vindication of the cause of the lawyers, the media and the civil society.

It was the expression of rage against the ever-rising inflation, the load-shedding and the failure to control suicide attacks. And yet it was also the cheering for the return of their leaders from exiles. It may be a protest of sorts for the scars rendered to the people of Balochistan and the tribal belt. And yet the occasion also symbolised the coming together of mainstream and religious parties, Pashtun, Baloch and Mohajir nationalist forces.

The scene was already set by the presence of Bilawal in the galleries. It must have been great for him to see his mother’s dream turning into reality. And yet he must have thought why she was not there. He was found trying to hold back the stream of his tears. It was a touching scene that made others cry as well. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, tears in his eyes, reached out to him to console by a handshake.

This had jiyalas absolutely beserk. A deafening sloganeering ensued: “Charon soobon ki zangeer, Benazir, Benazir;” “Kal bhi Bhutto zinda tha, aaj bhi Bhutto zinda hai.”

As if this was not enough, Gilani’s first decree as the prime minister accentuated the tempo further. Instead of Musharraf’s much-tainted slogan ‘Pakistan first,’ he took up the first thing first: “I order the release of arrested judges with immediate effect.” This electrified the atmosphere further, now joined by the enthusiasts of Nawaz Sharif as well. Aitzaz Ahsan, who was waiting anxiously for this occasion, joined the chorus immediately. The slogans changed from Benazir to, “Go Musharraf go.” Such was the frenzy that the parliament looked like a public meeting.

It must have been a disturbing sight for the president to watch from his bunker in Rawalpindi. The mood was nothing less than a declaration of war. No matter how many times does Musharraf repeat that he has no problem with the new government, in the heart of his hearts he knows it’s over. It is yet to be seen if the president would go against this rebellious assembly if the government reinstates the judges. A more pitiful site was that of his disciple in the shape of Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi. The man was simply out of place against this overwhelming tide. His first speech as the leader of the opposition was pathetic. Somehow, the Chaudhary of Gujrat did not fit into the aura of statesmanship most likely tailored by Mushahid Hussain Syed. He looked odd speaking on foreign policy issue about which, it was obvious, he had no idea. He wanted the government to do everything that he and his party never did while in power: respect the opposition, avoid horse-trading and victimisation of opponents. The Chaudhary has not set good precedents for his successors to follow. The mantle of the Leader of the Opposition might not be as easy to handle as Mushahid sahab is telling him about. He might be in deeper trouble if one were to believe Shahbaz Sharif, who has already announced to hold inquiries into alleged irregularities in the Bank of Punjab loans, the ring road project in Lahore, just to name a few.

There could not be a happier day for Yusuf Raza Gilani. He got the chance to savour the happiest moments of his political and personal life on the same day. He reached the epitome of politics by becoming the prime minister of Pakistan in the evening and saw his eldest son getting married by the night.

He will get his new office solemnised at the hands of a person under whose government Yusuf was kept in jail for five years on unproven charges. Nawaz Sharif and his party may not be happy at the new prime minister taking oath from a ‘dictator,’ others saw it as a vindication for all those who opposed Musharraf. “Here is person who had vowed that he would not let BB and Nawaz return to Pakistan,” said PPP activist Kashif Rizvi.

“BB may not be here but her party along with Nawaz Sharif is there. Now he has to eat his words by giving oath to their nominees.”

There was a revolutionary fervour where clichés about ‘the new dawn’ and ‘the demise of the old system’ had become almost overbearing. It will take a while before everybody reflects what this change entails. What are the good feelings and the bad, the hopes and apprehensions.

The biggest positive was that this had at least put an end to the wrangling over the selection of the Prime Minister. Everybody in the new government seemed to be at ease. This had also put to rest, for the time being, the infighting within the PPP. Makhdoom Amin Fahim was obviously fighting a lost war, employing sarcasm that was not fit for the occasion. The allies too had no problem with Yusuf. The issue over the cabinet was all but over. The PPP has asked the PML-N to choose 15 ministries of its choice, except the Ministries of Defence, Frontier and Northern Regions, Defence and Foreign Affairs. The PPP has already surrendered finance to the PML-N but the Nawaz camp is trying to get one more from the four strategic ministries that relate to the two of the Three A’s that matter in Pakistan. The issue is likely to be settled by today.

A happier news was that Asif Zardari had vowed to give Yusuf the chance of a full tenure. It provoked a sigh of relief among many PPP jiyalas, though we keep our fingers crossed on this issue.

Yusuf’s biggest challenge will be, say our pundits, to accomplish a few balacing acts: between the executive and the party where Asif Zardari will decide things; between the party and allies as this might be the first time after 1937 that a coalition government of this sort is being attempted. However, the most difficult balancing is required between the forces of the parliament and those outside it.

A glimpse of what might be unfolding in the coming days was witnessed where throngs of people gathered to celebrate the release of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary. If the vigilantes of Aitzaz Ahsan are not given what they want, they are not taking any chances. The buck does not stop at the mere reinstatement of judges. The idea is that governments in Pakistan are hostage to the vested interests and it is only through the independent judiciary that the system could be reformed. Sounds like another revolution. But then if they could come this far, who knows, they might change the unchangeable.