Shaukat Aziz as Finance Minister claimed, to his credit, the building of a foreign exchange reserve of over $11 billion and improved macroeconomic indicators. The 9/11 tragedy was the main contributor to the improved economic health of Pakistan.
The general public will adore him as a Prime Minister if he will be able to reduce poverty and produce jobs for millions of educated Pakistani youth. The improvement in macroeconomic is still to be achieved.
Shaukat Aziz's performance as a Prime Minister will be judged by the masses if he will be able to reduce their miseries and sufferings. He has not had any personal experience of living in a remote village where drinking water is still a rare commodity nor did he ever face any economic hardship in his life, acquiring education or a job nor had he studied in a school where classrooms was without desks and qualified teachers.
Pakistan's 70% population lives in the rural areas, it is imperative to provide all facilities to them including education, health being the prime responsibility of any government.
Pakistan can follow the role model of Germany for education, where all the children are provided the same standard of education irrespective of their parent's financial status and family background.
The other apprehensions are: How Shaukat Aziz, having no political background, will face a large and noisy opposition in the National Assembly? How Shaukat Aziz will manage the Cabinet of Ministers of different political ideologies and schools of thoughts? How will he convince the feudal class dominating the National Assembly that educating their tenants and haris is imperative for Pakistan's creation and justification? To what extent will Shaukat Aziz be able to promote the guiding principles of Quaid-e-Azam and not buckle down to the Mullahs, as he has already had to prove his faith to them, even before resuming the responsibility of Prime-minister-ship? How will Shaukat Aziz be able to avoid government involvement in religious matters? Would Shaukat Aziz go the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's way by taking on the establishment full blast or will he follow Mohammad Khan Junejo's style of using the establishment's crutches to gradually assert his own independence or will he adopt Nawaz Sharif's and Benazir Bhutto's neither here or there approach that led to their exile or will he follow Jamali's model of total obedience to the "boss," becoming a batman of a General. He has to keep in mind that all the former Prime Ministers have been mistreated by the establishment, that has a limited patience for civilian Prime Ministers.
The Prime Minister they chose has to be a toady, but even then they tire of him, no sooner than they have appointed him. If there is one who represents the people, they will be scheming against him or her from day one.
The success of Shaukat Aziz as a Prime Minister will open the way for other professional technocrats to serve the country at the highest executive level.
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