ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The battle between Pakistan’s judiciary and government took a fresh twist Thursday when a court issued an arrest warrant for a close ally of President Asif Ali Zardari, effectively blocking his nomination as the country’s next prime minister.
Zardari wanted Makhdoom Shahabuddin, a former health minister from Punjab province, to replace Yousuf Raza Gilani, who was dismissed Wednesday as prime minister by the Supreme Court.
But hours after Shahabuddin’s nomination, the military-run Anti-Narcotics Force prompted a magistrates court to orderhis arrest on charges relating to the illegal production of a controlled drug two years ago.
The court also issued an arrest warrant for Ali Musa Gilani, a son of the outgoing prime minister, in the same case.
Hours later, Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party, which leads the governing coalition, had two new options for the post step forward: Qamar Zaman Kaira, the former information minister, and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, a former minister for water and power.
The party said it would indicate its choice by midday today, ahead of an expected confirmation vote in the parliament tonight.
Zardari’s supporters, and some analysts, say the judiciary is using its widening powers to erode the authority of the government and ultimately push it from power.
“Absolutely no subtlety anymore in going after the govt. Amazing,” Nadeem Paracha, a newspaper columnist, wrote on Twitter.
The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, insists it is standing its ground against an incompetent and corruptionriddled administration. At thesame time, it has shrugged off graft accusations against Chaudhry’s son.
In the background, meanwhile, lies the country’s powerful generals, who also harbor deep animosity toward Zardari. With the arrests ordered in the drugs case, the generals, until now largely quiet in the political crisis, have entered the fray.
The Anti-Narcotics Force, which has aggressively pursued the investigation that led to Shahabuddin’s arrest warrant Thursday, is headed by a two-star general. The warrant was obtained by the lead investigator, Brig. Faheem Ahmed Khan, who is also a serving officer.
The anti-drug force has said in court that Ali Musa Gilani used his father’s name to obtain the illegal production of 10.5 tons of ephedrine, a controlled drug used to manufacture methamphetamine, in 2010, at a time when Shahabuddin was health minister.
Ali Musa Gilani and Shahabuddin have rejected the charges, and their supporters say they are part of a wider power battle involving the judiciary, government and military.
Salman Raja, a lawyer for Ali Musa Gilani, said there was no substantial evidence against his client. He accused the Anti-Narcotics Force ofpressuring senior Health Ministry officials to testify against Ali Musa Gilani.
“They have been badgering and harassing people in the Ministry of Health, begging them to name him. It’s all very cynical and targeted. An absolute disgrace,” Raja said in a telephone interview.
Last week Malik Riaz Hussain, a billionaire property developer with ties to the military and to Zardari’s political party, claimed to have given $3.7 million in kickbacks to Chaudhry’s son, Arsalan Iftikhar, in a bid to influence the outcome of several court cases.
The scandal spread to the media when it emerged that two senior journalists had orchestrated a television interview with Hussain.
Yousuf Gilani was ousted this week because he refused court orders to reopen a dormant corruption inquiry into Zardari’s finances in Switzerland. Yousuf Gilani argued that as president, Zardari was immune from prosecution.
“You have to place this in the later context of the army flexing its muscles,” said Raja, the lawyer for Yousuf Gilani’s son. “Today, all of Pakistan’s institutions and centers of criticism - the courts, Parliament, the media - are under a question mark. Except the army.”
Front Section, Pages 1 on 06/22/2012