One has to hand it to Asif Zardari, on the face of it he has politically out- maneuvered Mian Nawaz Sharif yet again, or has he?
Despite being under pressure lately Zardari has notable accomplishments. The success of sorts in Swat has been bought at a heavy price, the sacred blood of our young martyrs in uniform. Sufi Muhammad took the abject and shameful surrender by Pakistan’s Parliament in passing a resolution for so-called “peace” in less than a day as a sign of weakness, the Talibaan were not prepared for the outraged reaction of the Pakistani public. Their faux pas in attempting to brutally take over Swat and adjacent districts was fully exploited by the Pakistan Army, that most of the IDPs are returning is a clear measure of the military’s success (and it so happens, Zardari’s). Complete success will only be possible when Maulana Fazlullah and his top aides are physically eliminated.
Surviving Mar 15 virtually unscathed is a credit to Zardari’s political craftsmanship, being reduced to a figurehead President is certainly not in keeping with his personality profile, or the shenanigans of his friends. He has again contrived what he has become a master at, play for time, consigning the 17th Amendment into convenient cold storage by putting into Parliamentary Committee. Yusuf Reza Gilani vacillated in the name of party unity when the opportunity arose to get back the PM’s powers under the 1973 Constitution, by not maintaining the Mar 15 momentum he blew his chances. That the Supreme Court (SC) decision overturning Mian Sahib’s conviction on the aircraft hijack case came the same day as Zardari’s Raiwind visit is no mean coincidence, Zardari needed to head off Mian Nawaz Sharif running loose in the National Assembly with Gilani on Constitutional issues.
Nawaz Sharif’s Catch-22 was, refusing Zardari’s visit to Raiwind would have confirmed him as the “extremist” he is labelled to be, by receiving him and signing a meaningless document Zardari seems to have taken him politically to the cleaners again. Mian Sahib is taking a calculated risk in believing he can contain this perception without falling prey to Zardari’s machinations again. Given total support from the US on the back of Richard Holbrooke’s vast shoulders and the single-handed efforts of Ambassador Husain Haqqani, Zardari is presently sitting pretty, holed out in the President’s House. The Raiwind visit calls for exchanging “high fives” with his close circle for effectively filibustering (temporarily at least) the erosion of such Presidential powers that would put an absolute monarch to shame. Zardari probably cares two hoots about being the most unpopular man in Pakistan, it is most surprising that the Obama Administration does too.
Pervez Musharraf must be content in his London Apartment, in less than a year Zardari has replaced him as the unpopular figure in Pakistan. Unlike Zardari, Musharraf always enjoyed a base of popularity, given the present abysmal performance of the Zardari-Gilani govt, this will force-multiply exponentially. If the Army can stomach Zardari, why should they mind Musharraf back as President one day? Even though Musharraf’s Oct 12, 1999 takeover was illegal in all senses of the word, in all fairness it was popular in the streets with both the intelligentsia and the masses fed up with bad governance, no tears were shed for the Mian Nawaz Sharif regime. Almost everyone welcomed, myself included, a military coup in the name of hope, or as hope is known in Pakistan, “the doctrine of necessity”. That public faith in Pervez Musharraf eroded dramatically after the rigged 2002 elections was no surprise, that is the fate of all who close their ears to good advice and shoot messengers bringing bad news.
As long as Asif Zardari does not meddle with the military, and uptil now he has shown no inclination for this rather fatal pastime, the military hierarchy seems more comfortable having him (Kayani was DG ISI before he became COAS, he cannot claim ignorance about all the Zardari controversies) around than Mian Sahib. One can understand the Army’s lack of enthusiasm in repealing the 17th Amendment and Clause 58 (2) b, why shackle themselves for the next time around? It stands to reason they seem supportive (as does the US) of a strong President and an ineffectual PM. There is a catch, given that the military hierarchy remains sensitive to emotions among the rank and file (“morale military in the Monthly Security Intelligence Report (MSIR)), who are pretty vehement about the rampant corruption prevailing, I would not hold my breath!
While Mian Sahib must be congratulated for not becoming another political beneficiary of the infamous National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), nonetheless his “democratic” silence about this blackest of black laws is intriguing. Even though it seems they presently seem to lack enthusiasm, there seems to be method in the Supreme Court’s (SC) benign ignoring of something that has disfigured Pakistan’s politics and threatens our existence as a nation. At present all eyes are on the Supreme Court (SC) as they decide on the blatantly illegal Nov 3 action. The NRO will have to be addressed, his lordships cannot ignore it forever under “a doctrine of necessity”. Ordinary mortals like us do expect that their lordships, while suo moto-ing everything under the sun, will ultimately address this black hole in Pakistan’s heart.
The NRO provides for London being the first (and Dubai the second) home for our leaders. Our leaders alternate in giving us bad governance, collect their booty (and their gifts which seems to be their right by being President and/or PM), and go back to London (and Dubai), at least till all is forgotten and forgiven by our gullible masses, and their popularity returns. As long as our young men are willing and able to die for their country irrespective of who their leader is, and the NRO gives blanket cover for their excesses, whatever those excesses may be, why should those who cannot be held accountable care, whoever they may be?
Courtesy: The News
