Zardari Rev 2

Do people change with time or is it just a fake make-over to suit the requirements of the day? Well, the answer to this question could vary according to the person in question. One man whose life has taken a couple of very sharp turns during the last few months in Pakistan is the PPP co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari. And that has exposed him to the scrutinizing eyes of his critics. But one thing is quite clear. Zardari is making his presence felt on the political scene of Pakistan and is being noticed for his political manoeuvers in the local as well as international media. So far, he seems to have played his cards well, with the exception of the dissenting note of Makhdoom Amin Fahim, one of the most senior leaders of the PPP, who has chosen to stand out from the pack for insisting, or so it seems, on becoming the prime minister of the country.

Comparing the sober-looking, meaning-business Zardari of today with the moustache-twirling, polo-playing Zardari of the past is quite of an evaluation in contrast. From being a man-about-town in his youth to the husband of the prime minister of Pakistan, Zardari was seen by his detractors as more of a ‘worldly wise’ chap than a prudent politician. With his wife as the prime minister, Zardari is reputed to have made a lot of bucks at the expense of the PPP’s reputation of being a pro-poor political party. But that had to change.

The abrupt departure of Benazir Bhutto to the other world seems to have left a lasting imprint on Zardari’s mind. Still, it would perhaps be jumping the gun to say that it is just the assassination of Benazir Bhutto that made Zardari see things from a different perspective. His vision about politics started broadening well before that tragic event. Even Zardari’s harshest critics agree that the person seems to have learnt some crude lessons of life while languishing in jail for crimes that he says he did not commit — an assertion borne out by the accountability courts in Pakistan. He has been successfully able to carry on the work that Benazir Bhutto started in convincing Nawaz Sharif about the importance of returning to Pakistan for the cause of democracy.

But there is still a tough road ahead of him in terms of performing the task of finalizing the name of prime minister, keeping the party disciplined and continue interacting with the PML-N and other allied political parties. It is still a long way before he can at least partly shed the luggage of being a controversial politician. There are already controversies surrounding Mr Zardari. Political pundits are claiming that he wants a lame duck prime minister from the PPP for the time being so that the process of his becoming the prime minister himself after contesting by-elections remains smooth. But Amin Fahim has remained defiant throughout; and why not? He has been with Benazir Bhutto through the thick and thin of politics. He has gained experience by learning the art of politics under the very leadership of Benazir. He claims to have the support of a major section of the PPP cadre in Sindh and elsewhere.

What does Zardari have to counter the rebellion from within the PPP? Apparently nothing. But he has done well to let things roll on their natural course as Amin Fahim, skirting the PPP leadership, has been accused of trying to maintain a separate equation with President Musharraf. Zardari’s political shrewdness, if not statesmanship, has succeeded in making the civil society and the media revive the earlier impressions about Zardari that his life begins and ends with money and horses, etc. The world is watching every move of him with interest. So far, Zardari has shown himself to be amenable to change and that he can give a mature response when it comes to matters that require some thought and insight. It has certainly been a tough time for him, braving the loss of his wife, the prime minister of a country deep in crises and moving ahead with his once opponents like the PML-N.

There could be some truth in the argument given by his colleagues and friends that Zardari was chosen as a soft target by the establishment to malign the government of Benazir Bhutto since all the cases of corruption have been proved wrong. May be! Perhaps he has not been as corrupt as he was portrayed in the past. But there is no dearth of people adept in the art of weaving conspiracy theories, stretching their tools of imagination as far as accusing Zardari of masterminding Benazir’s assignation to sweep across the political stage of Pakistan. To me, whether Zardari becomes the prime minister or not, the pointers to judge him as a politician should be the steps that he takes in whatever capacity in taking the country out of the crises that we are in. There is no harm in posing some trust in him since Benazir Bhutto transferred him the reins of party’s leadership. As things stand, he is in control of things. The PML-N stands by him as well as the ANP and other political parties. Give him a try; we have done just that with other politicians in the past. Let’s see if he can deliver.