No formal notification, removing Maj. Gen. (retd) Mehmud Ali Durrani as national security advisor, has so far been issued even after the passage of one week of his sacking. “We have not received anything in black and white from the presidency for issuance of the official notification, relieving Durrani of his position,” a Cabinet Division official told Saudi Gazette. He said that a formal notification was necessary for the appointment or removal of federal ministers, ministers of state and advisors to the prime minister. On Jan. 7, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani announced the abrupt sacking of Durrani for speaking on Ajmal Kasab's Pakistani nationality “without taking him into confidence.” A terse and harsh statement was issued by the prime minister's office to the effect the same day. According to the official procedure, the premier is to send a formal case to President Asif Ali Zardari, removing an advisor or minister. The president is to approve it and only then, the cabinet division issues a formal notification, which is also made public. An official said that the delay in the issuance of the notification did not show any prospects of retention of Durrani as the national security advisor. “I think he is gone as advisor after the prime minister dismissed him.” He said that since some presidential aides including his Principal Secretary Salman Farooqui had been concertedly engaged in “pulling the leg” of Durrani for quite some time with the aim of getting him ousted, they would like the issuance of notification without any delay. Here Article 93 of the Constitution is relevant as well as interesting. “The President may, on the advice of the Prime Minister, appoint not more than five Advisors, on such terms and conditions as he may determine,” its clause 1 reads. A constitutional expert said that one interpretation of this provision is that since the prime minister's advice for appointment or removal of an advisor is not binding on the president as the use of word “may” implies, Zardari may sit on Gilani's advice in the case of Durrani for some time, as he is stated to be displeased over his sacking. Zardari to visit China in February President Asif Ali Zardari will be visiting Beijing in the first week of February and preparations for the visit are under way both in Islamabad and Beijing, said a news report. Zardari will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and the visit would focus on investment projects that were identified during the president's last year visit, the report carried in the leading English language daily The News said.
