Gillani government

Gillani Government
42ndCabinet of Pakistan
2008–2012
Date formed	31 March 2008
Date dissolved	19 June 2012
People and organisations
Head of state	Asif Ali Zardari (2008–2013) Pervez Musharraf (March 2008–August 2008)
Head of government	Yousaf Raza Gillani
Member party	PPP,ANP,MQM,JUI(F)
Status in legislature	Coalition government
Opposition party	PML-N
History
Election	2008 general election
Legislature term	5 years
Predecessor	Aziz government
Successor	Ashraf government

TheGillani governmentbegan its operation into office on 31 March 2008 afterYousaf Raza Gillaniwas elected asPrime ministerofPakistanby theNational Assemblyon 25 March 2008. The swearing-in of the government’s cabinet was delayed for a few days until March 31 because of differences arising amongst the coalition partners.

TheleftistPPPgained substantial seats in theParliamentin thegeneral electionsheld in 2008 but lacked enough seats to form a government with asimple majority.Initiallywith thecoalitiongovernment, theconservativePML-Nquickly departed when its leader,Nawaz Sharif(formerPrime Minister), decided to lead the efforts onimpeachingthe formerPresidentPervez Musharrafas well asrestoringthejudiciary,of which, thePML(N)played a centralized role.

Prime MinisterGillanidecided to centralize the power by forming a more denseleft-wingalliance that consisted of minor left parties: theANP,MQM,JUI(F).AsPrime Minister,Gillaniescalated themilitary operationsto keep pressure onTalibanand as well on theBaloch separatists.Gillanigreatly relaxed thetaxationthat effected the annualGDP growthand initiated thewelfare programme.Responding to globalrecession,Gillaniimplemented thenationalizationof conglomerates and tightly controlled themeans of productionof the industries.RelationswithBangladesh,Afghanistan,andIndiaworsenin 2008–12 as well criticism from theUnited Stateswidened. In 2011, theU.S.initiated asecretoperation to hunt down theOsama bin Ladenwithout the knowledge of Prime MinisterGillani.

Prime MinisterGillani's government witnessed the sharp rise in nationwideviolence,increasedcorruptioninnationalizedindustries,social tension,politicalscandalsand assassinations. After months of delaying theSupreme Court's recommendations to investigate thecorruption casesagainstBenazir Bhutto,Gillaniwas ousted from the office; nonetheless, his ministry continued to be in effect byhis successor.Overall ratings remains negative onGillanias his tenure has been described as a "clash of state institutions, involving theexecutive,thearmed forcesand thejudiciary."Under his government, Gillani was held responsible for the prolonged "Era of Stagflation",in which fundamentaleconomic problemswere ignored. In 2013, there was an increase in criticism of the Gillanian years, even after theNRO squabblewas eventually resolved byhis successor.

Gillani cabinet

Cabinet

At swearing-in ceremony, thePML(N)members declined to take oath underPresidentGeneralPervez Musharraf,who they considered an illegitimate head of state. The first cabinet was short-lived lasting only 2 weeks; the list of federal ministers short-listed for the cabinet included two women members of the lower house and three members of thesenate.

Gillani Cabinets (2008–12)	Figure	Collective alliance	Notes on Tenure
Prime Minister	Yousaf Raza Gillani	PPP	2008–12
President	Asif Zardari Muhammad Soomro(Acting) Pervez Musharraf	PPP Independent PML(Q)	2008–12 18 August–9 September 2008 2007–2008
Cabinet Ministries	Cabinet Ministers	Collective alliance	Tenure
Foreign Affairs	Mehmood Qureshi Hina Rabbani Khar	PPP	2008–11 2011–12
Finance	Abdul Hafeez Shaikh Shaukat Tarin Naveed Qamar (Ishaq Dar)	PPP Independent PPP (PML(N))	2010–12 2008–2010 May 12 – October 8, 2008 (31 March–13 May 2008)
Interior	Rehman Malik	PPP	2008–2012
States and Frontiers	Najmuddin Khan	PPP	2008–12
Petroleum and Natural Resources	Asim Hussain ((Muhammad Asif)) Mrs Iffat Mahfooz	PPP (PML(N))	2008–12 (31 March–13 May 2008)
Defence	Naveed Qamar Ahmad Mukhtar	PPP PPP	2012 2008–12
Defence Production	(Senior MinisterChaudhry Pervaiz Elahi) Manzoor Wattoo Shahabuddin (Tanveer Hussain)	PML(Q) PPP PPP (PML(N))	2011–12 16 March–5 May 2011 2010–11 2008–10 31 March–13 May 2008
Water and Power	Ahmad Mukhtar Pervez Ashraf	PPP PPP	2011–12 2008–11
Railways	Ahmad Bilour (Mehtab Ahmed Khan)	ANP (PML(N))	2008–12 31 March–13 May 2008
Law, Justice, Human Rights	Farooq Naik Babar Avan	PPP PPP	2011–12 2008–11
Information, Broadcasting, National Heritage	Firdous Ashiq Avan Qamar Zaman Kaira Sherry Rehman	PPP PPP PPP	2011–12 2009–11 2008–09
Communications,Food Security	Mrs Iffat Mahfooz	PPP (PML(N))	2008–12 31 March–13 May 2008
Ports and Shipping	Babar Ghuari Naveed Qamar	MQM PPP	2010–12 2008–10
Education Research	Mir Hazar Bijrani (Ahsan Iqbal)	PPP (PML(N))	2008–12 31 March–13 May 2008
Overseas Pakistanis	Farooq Sattar Khurshid Shah	MQM PPP	2010–12 2008–10
Health and Welfare	Riaz Pirzada Humayun Aziz Kurd	PML(Q) PPP	2010–12 2008–10
Northern Areas	Qamar Zaman Kaira Manzoor Wattoo	PPP PPP	2011–12 2008–11
Commerce	Amin Fahim (Shahid Abbasi)	PPP (PML(N))	2008–12 31 March–13 May 2008
Housings and Works	Rehmatullah Kakar	PPP	2008–12
Science and Technology	MirChengiz Khan Azam Swati (Sa'ad Rafiq)	PPP JUI(F) (PML(N))	2011–12 2010–11 31 March–13 May 2008
Women Development,Culture	Ghazala Gola (Tehmina Daultana)	PPP (PML(N))	2008–12 31 March–13 May 2008
Environment	Hameedullah Jan Afridi	ANP	2008–12
Rural Developments	Ghulam Ahmad Bilour	ANP	2008–12
Social Affairs	Muhammad Hoti	ANP	2008–12

Cabinet composition of Gillani ministry

Party	Number
PPP	23
MQM	2
ANP	4
PML(Q)	1
JUI(F)	1