THE circumstances leading to Raza Rabbani's decision to resign as minister and leader of the upper house are unsavoury to say the least. Even though the prime minister has not accepted his resignation, one doubts if a man of Mr Rabbani's stature will take it back. What is lamentable is the gaucherie behind President Asif Zardari's nomination of Farooq H. Naek as Senate chairman to replace Mohammadmian Soomro. The president, of course, had his own compulsions for nominating Mr Naek for the Senate slot. The latter was his defence counsel and is one of his key
advisers. While comparisons are odious, Mr Rabbani stands his ground. One of Benazir Bhutto's closest lieutenants, Mr Rabbani decided not to be administered the oath of office by President Pervez Musharraf. His decision was in sharp contrast to what the ministers belonging to the PPP and PML-N did they all agreed to “solemnly” repeat the sacred words Musharraf spoke, the PML-N's fig leaf being black armbands.

Mr Rabbani is seen as one of the key people behind the Charter of Democracy and the Murree Declaration. For that reason he would have been the ideal person at this hour when — notwithstanding the vitriol the two sides have been spewing — the president and prime minister continue to talk of a patch-up with the PML-N. With the PPP and PML-N locked in a bitter conflict to 'capture' Punjab, no matter what it takes to do so, many will regret Mr Rabbani's absence from the PPP camp. What must have hurt Mr Rabbani most was that he was not even informed by the leadership of its choice of Mr Naek as Senate chairman, and that it was left to someone else (ANP's Asfandyar Wali Khan, if media reports are to believed) to apprise him of the decision. As mentioned earlier, we do not know if Mr Rabbani will take his decision back, although those who believe in clean politics will be hoping that he does. His departure from the cabinet could prove to be a blow to the credentials of the ministerial team, for he is known as one of the most honest politicians around.