Prime Minister should resign: 'PPP should appoint a new one', says Fazl

Mounting further pressure on Pakistan People's Party-led coalition government, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman on Tuesday demanded the removal of Yousuf Raza Gilani from the office of Prime Minister.
Speaking at a news conference along with party's secretary-general Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri and sacked Minister for Science and Technology Azam Swati at his residence, the JUI-F chief said that PPP should appoint a new person for the premiership.
"Or otherwise President Asif Ali Zardari should take action against him [Gilani] for sabotaging the reconciliatory policy initiated by him [Zardari]," he added. Fazl said the coalition partners were quitting the ruling alliance one by one and things were heading towards political turmoil in the country.
"I think it is high time that PPP must think about changing the premier seriously," he said, expressing the fear that the current political system would derail any time if Prime Minister Gilani was not removed in time. The JUI-F chief said consensus could be developed on a new person as prime minister, adding that removal of Prime Minister Gilani is a must to save the system.
The demand of Prime Minister Gilani's resignation came a day after another important ally of the government, Muttahida Qaumi Movement announced parting ways with the Cabinet but not leaving the treasury benches in both Houses of the Parliament. About the decision of MQM, Fazl said he personally thinks that MQM could not take a 'complete' decision because of the criticism launched against it by PML-N chief M Nawaz Sharif a day earlier in Muzaffarabad.
He said the government was under extreme pressure and its allies were leaving one by one giving it tough time, which will become tougher in days to come. Fazl said his party's decision of quitting the ruling alliance in the Center would not to be changed; however, he added that final decision would be taken after consultation with like-minded parties, if Prime Minister Gilani is removed.
About the future of Awami National Party (ANP) in the ruling coalition, he said it depends on the leadership of ANP to take any decision. He, however, said owing to the ground realities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and deployment of army in most of the province, it seems that it would be difficult for the party to run the provincial government. He said that he was in contact with other religious parties for the revival of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA). Fazal declined to comment further on the statement of PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain that Mian Nawaz Sharif was supporting the PPP government, but said that Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain's statement can be true as the Leaguers know each other better.