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| India-Pakistan |
| Mr Zardari's legacy --Saad Hafiz |
| 2013-03-31 |
| [Pak Daily Times] It is not a popular thing to say but Mr Zardari's calculating pragmatism has probably served Pakistain better at this time, than the crusading gung-ho panache exhibited by his predecessors Pakistain will have to grapple with serious issues in the upcoming election with security and the economy at the top of the agenda. It remains to be seen whether this election campaign will strengthen democratic discourse or turn into the normal political slugfest filled with slander, distasteful language and hostility between the parties. There are early indications that the opposition will make an election issue of the person and record of the much-maligned incumbent president, Mr Asif Ali Zardari. Mr Zardari and the Pakistain People's Party (PPP) came to power in 2008 on a wave of sympathy and hope, after a Taliban suicide-bomber killed his wife and the then PPP leader, Ms Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... , during the election campaign. As a result, Mr Zardari, never popular and dogged by corruption allegations became head of the party. Paks were naturally looking for a promise of vision, leadership, courage and strength from Mr Zardari when he accidently took over the mantle of leadership from the charismatic Ms Bhutto. But Mr Zardari is not equipped or can pretend to be a visionary leader like the earlier Bhuttos, so there is little point in placing him on that pedestal. People must take him for who he is, which is a shrewd tactician and a street smart politician. He has successfully kept his ego and self-interest in check, to keep a nascent and flawed democratic dispensation in place. His greatest asset is his special talent for maneuvering himself out of the tight spots he gets himself into. He has had the humility to listen to his bitterest critics and accommodate their views and even admit his own mistakes. It is not a popular thing to say but Mr Zardari's calculating pragmatism has probably served Pakistain better at this time, than the crusading gung-ho panache exhibited by his predecessors. |
| Posted by:Fred |