Rise and falls of former Law Minister Dr. Babar Awan (Part One)

Rise and falls of former Law Minister Dr. Babar Awan (Part One)

Generally politicians take years and years to become famous and if they make it, they never move back. But the quick rise and fall of Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) leader Dr. Babar Awan in the political arena was unique and exceptional.

The top leadership of the ruling PPP turned a blind eye at Babar Awan who was looking governorship of Punjab, as the then President General Pervez Musharraf with the consent of party’s Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari appointed Salman Taseer to the crucial post.

The abrupt killing of Salman Taseer aroused hopes for Awan, who was right-hand man of President Zardari. However, he was disappointed when his archival Latif Khosa appointed as Governor Punjab.

He was also eyeing for the post of Senate chairman for years, which was too filled by Farooq H Naek and latter Syed Nayar Hussain Bukhari.

However, the decision of the Supreme Court on National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) bridged the gap between him and President Zardari. In order to tackle hostile judiciary, Babar Awan was appointed as Law Minister

In the first test case, his idea clicked and he succeeded to divide the lawyers’ community by throwing billions of rupees. Resultantly, the government-backed candidates won the elections throughout the country.

Following the first success, he never looked back and became start of the game. He masterminded a showdown between the Supreme Court and the presidency, using the media to ridicule the judiciary for selective justice.

Apart from the Punjab, Babar Awan attempted to topple the PML-N led Punjab government in connivance with Salman Taseer and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q).

Although he succeeded in imposing Governor’s rule in the province, he failed to establish a PPP-led government in Punjab.

Despite the fact the PPP and PML-Q had been at loggerheads against each other, he convinced President Zardari to offer the former party to join the coalition government.

He also floated the idea to reopen the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto case, which was welcomed by the president and other party leaders.

In order to win hefty financial and political benefits, Awan quit the post to contest the case in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

However, Babar Awan was used to run the ministry through his crony, Law Secretary Masood Chishti and his brother Farooq Awan, the advisor to the Prime Minister on Law.

The entry of journalists was strictly banned in the Law Ministry, keeping the media at bay and hiding who was calling the shots.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=21167

Posted by Faisal Farooq on May 2 2012. Filed under Opinion, Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.