Prime Minister Gilani’s political gaffe
Saturday, May 12th, 2012 2:44:17 by Faisal Farooq
Political gaffes are not unusual in Pakistan, but the country’s prime minister’s recent remarks take the ice of the cake. It was funnily enough and reminds the phrase made popular by French monarch Marie Antoinette, “Let them eat cake”.
Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, who is currently in the United Kingdom on a five-day official visit, earned the fame across the globe by his recent golden remarks.
The Pakistani premier while interviewing left CNN’s Becky Anderson literally at a loss for words.
The CNN anchor posed the question at the very end of her interview, quoting a Gallop survey which claimed only 20 per cent supported him while one-third of Pakistanis wanted to leave the country because it was a dysfunctional society. To her amazement, Gilani responded: “Why don’t they just leave then”.
In quite an unexpected and the matter-of-fact response was followed by, “Who’s stopping them?”
The CNN (Cable News Network) interview clip has gone viral on the internet by fervent tweeters and bloggers, after the Pakistani premier’s comments were followed by an apparent awkward silence between the interviewer and interviewee.
The rest of the session was less improvised, with Gilani defending his contempt of court conviction and Islamabad’s stance on drone strikes being counter-productive.
The interviewer asked twice to Prime Minister Gilani if he would quit his post after his appeal rejected by the Supreme Court, he answered, “If I am disqualified and notified by the (National Assembly) speaker, then yes, I will have to”.
About US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent mantra that Pakistan needed to do more to fight terrorism, he clarified that it was the time for them to do more.
The Pakistani premier defended himself just as strongly as he defended the country and the course it has taken in battling terrorism. He noted, “Whatever I have done is according to the Constitution. It is not on any moral turpitude or financial corruption”.
While replying to a query about conviction from the Supreme Court, Gilani said that only parliament had the right to force him from office.
Tags: Becky Anderson, Cable News Network, CNN, Gallup Poll, National Assembly Speaker, Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, Supreme Court, United Kingdom, US, US Secretary of State Hillary ClintonShort URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=22141
Posted by Faisal Farooq
on May 12 2012. Filed under Opinion, Pakistan, Politics.
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I wonder how one-third of the Pakistanis that want to leave the country will actually leave the country. With stringent visa policies and impossible-to-achieve immigration programs in place, how can a common man manage to leave the country. Mr. Gillani and his party love to fire in the air (more commonly known as hawai-fire), and with the current situation in the country, I don’t think anyone wants to live here.
Perhaps if Mr. Gillani can arrange for these one-third Pakistanis to leave the country, I’d be the first one to jump the ship!
The interview was an utter embarrassment for the nation. Btw, whose stopped him from leaving Pak,