Islamabad: On paper, Yousuf Raza Gilani is one of the most powerful prime ministers in Pakistan's history thanks to constitutional reforms in April that effectively turned the president into a ceremonial head of state.
However, President Asif Ali Zardari still calls the shots, observers and analysts say, and Gilani's weak administration could complicate efforts to combat militants in a country whose help is crucial for US efforts to stabilise neighbouring Afghanistan.
"The task of fighting militancy is devolving entirely to the military," said said Talat Massood, a retired army general turned analyst.
"The other things which are to be done by the civilians are not happening or happening at a very slow pace and that is very worrisome."
A civilian prime minister — and by extension his government — unable or unwilling to govern "may provide space to militants to reassert themselves", he added.
Thus, the balance of power in Pakistan's political-military establishment is critical to that effort.
Troublesome
The United States and Nato fear instability or political infighting in Pak-istan could make the war in Afghanistan even more troublesome than it already is, given Pakistan's links to Afghanistan, its own militancy problem and its history of military coups.
"Given that Zardari is the president and his powers have been transferred, Gilani's success is important to Western efforts in the region," a Western diplomat said on condition of anonymity. But a weak prime minister coupled with an unpopular president is not in the West's interests, the diplomat said.
"Gilani does not give the impression that he is ready to carry the new burden of running the country effectively, efficiently or even on his own steam," Syed Talat Hussain wrote in the May issue of Newsline, a monthly magazine.
Others say it is simply Gilani's low-key style.
"The amount of work has been increased after the passage of the 18th amendment. There is now more official work, more meetings. But the new powers have not gone to his head. His attitude remains the same, no difference," said a senior official in Gilani's office.
The soft-spoken Gilani is a long-time political ally of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Zardari's wife, who was assassinated in 2007.
Though Zardari lost his major powers after passage of the constitutional reforms, he can still influence the government by using his powerful position of the head of the ruling party.
