Aziz addresses parliament before a vote of confidence (AFP)

By Asif Farooqi, IOL Correspondent

ISLAMABAD, August 28 (IslamOnlin.net) – Former Pakistani Finance Minister and President Pervez Musharraf’s favorite Shaukat Aziz was sworn on Saturday, August 28, as Pakistan’s new Prime Minister.

The oath came one day after the 342-seat National Assembly (Pakistani lower house of parliament) formally approved Aziz with 191 votes.

He was due to face a vote of confidence in parliament later Saturday, seen as a formality.

Officials said Aziz's Cabinet will be sworn on Wednesday, September 2.

The manner of Shaukat Aziz’s elevation to the top government post also raised many eyebrows, particularly because of the perception that it was stage-managed by the military.

Having resigned his seat as a Senator, he contested elections for the lower house of parliament from two constituencies where he had no personal political standing.

His electioneering took place mostly in his absence after he survived a suicide bomb attack that killed his driver and six others.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was installed as an interim Prime Minister for a mere 58 days simply to ride out the time until Aziz took over.

Zafrallah Jamali resigned in June after reportedly falling out with Musharraf, giving Aziz time to win a seat in the National Assembly, which is a requisite for any Prime Minister.

“The parliament is nothing more than a rubber stamp in the hands of a military dictator,” Saad Rafiq a leader of the opposition PML (N) party said.

“It was a shame that the parliament has elected a person the Prime Minister, who is a stranger to most Pakistanis,” he added.

‘Well-Connected’

But many analysts believe that Aziz’s links to the United States have earned him the job.

“He has only one qualification which helped him to become the country’s Prime Minister. He is very well connected in Washington ,” Ayesha Siddiqa-Agha, a political analyst, told IOL.

She said Aziz would be doing the military’s bidding and would implement the policies he would be told to do.

“He has very little connection with the people of Pakistan and he is definitely not a people's Prime Minister,” Agha added.

President Musharraf himself had made it quite clear very early on that he would like to see Aziz as the Prime Minister.

Some see this factor as more significant in his rise to the top than his economic achievements.

On December 14 last year, Musharraf’s motorcade passed over a bridge near the Chaklala air force base only seconds before an explosion.

Then on Christmas Day, two suicide bombers rammed his motorcade  with explosives-laden vehicles, killing 14 people and injuring at least 46.

Business Support

From a banker unknown to most Pakistanis just 5 years ago, to the country’s finance wizard, Aziz’s rise to the top in politics has been as meteoric as it has been sudden.

Aziz, 55, who worked for 30 years as a Citibank executive before becoming Finance Minister when Musharraf took power in a bloodless coup in 1999, was entrusted with the task of managing a crisis-ridden economy.

He is credited by many for turning the Pakistani economy around by bringing macro-economic stability to the country’s finances.

Under his stewardship, Pakistan managed to stimulate growth, with the rate now over 6 percent, reduce its deficit, achieve its highest ever reserves of foreign currency and see the Karachi stock market outperform all other markets in the world for two years running.

Understandably, then, he has widespread support within the business community.

“Shaukat Aziz has a tremendous potential to serve this nation. And given his past record, we feel he would live up to the challenge once again,” Mohsin Khalid, the former president of Islamabad Chambers of Commerce and Industry, told IslamOnline.net.

He said the country’s business community is with Aziz and would support him in his dreams to turn Pakistan into the next Asian tiger.

For many Pakistanis, however, the promise of stability and economic progress is reason enough to welcome Aziz’s installation, regardless of how it came about.

Muhammad Rafiq, a car dealer in Islamabad said Aziz is an honest man.

“He successfully managed our economy and now he can manage the whole country,” he said.

Saeed Ali, a university student was also of the opinion that it didn’t matter to most Pakistani whether they have a technocrat or a politician as prime minister.

“All we want is good governance,” Ali told IOL.