Zardari’s zen politics
The objective of this article is not to criticise the government, for that has been done ad nauseum by all and sundry. Neither do I intend to foment the movement to oust the government, for removing a sitting government is the exclusive prerogative of the parliament and the executive. The objective here is to recognise and appreciate the introduction of a new tradition in Pakistan’s political discourse: the tradition of taking the high road, introduced by none other than el Presidente Asif Ali Zardari.
Never before has a political figure had such scorn heaped on him, never before has the occupant of the office of the President been the theme of so many jokes and never before has a President been subjected to such verbal assaults. In the face of such criticism, whether it is true or not, the norm is to throw down the gauntlet and unleash the dogs of war. But President Zardari has taken the high road. He has uttered no words unbecoming of the office of the President of Pakistan and has doubtless resisted the temptation to gag the media. In the face of unprecedented criticism, he has shown unprecedented fortitude. For that alone, he deserves credit.
A sitting chief minister has refused to acknowledge him as his president and threatens to ulta latka him if he does not bring back allegedly looted money. He has been called Mr 10 per cent and he has been called a bigger dictator than Musharraf. He has also been called countless other names I would rather not repeat here. What ever the objective of these verbal volleys, it has not been achieved. By refusing to get drawn into a shouting contest, Zardari has made his opponents look petty and hurt their credibility. Shahbaz Sharif’s October 28 speech will probably go down in history as the epitome of pettiness and manufactured hysteria. Everything including the kitchen sink is being thrown at Zardari, but nothing is sticking.
Perhaps the only criticism that holds any weight is that he has dragged his feet in the implementation of various Supreme Court judgments. His detractors have gone as far as to say that he is defying the Supreme Court, but that seems a stretch as Zardari has not once stated that he does not accept the judgments. Instead he has taken legal recourse in all cases and government lawyers have been showing up for all hearings.
The fact that these cases are playing out themselves so slowly is perhaps exposing the flaws in our judicial system, but to put the fault for that at Zardari’s feet would be unfair. He did not put the clause for presidential immunity in the constitution and neither is he responsible if their is no statute of limitations on case durations which guarantees swift dispensation of justice.
There is no doubt that he is very unpopular and a lot of people would like to see him out of the presidency. I hate it to break it to these people, but the constitution does not accept that as valid grounds for dismissal of the government. If the government is to be brought down, there are many constitutional options available. Unfortunately none of them involve street protests, unsubstantiated allegations or gutter language.
It is said that leaders obsess about the legacy they leave. If that is true for Zardari, he can rest assured that there will be some positives in that legacy as well. While it is true that he may live in infamy for presiding over some tough times, he will forever be the pioneer of the politics of Zen in Pakistan. If future legislative bodies can cover the holes exposed by the executive-judiciary tussle of his era (for example the Presidential Immunity), the credit for that will partially have to go to Zardari as well for bringing those flaws to light. And if he can preside over a transparent, free and fair election in 2013, perhaps history will forgive all his faults.
Irfan Waheed is an engineer working in Austin, Texas. He can be reached at irfanwaheed@msn.com or on twitter.
The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.
a nice article……The carping critics of the president are forgetting that despite their exaggerated criticism,the president's fame as the leader is growing each day passing instead of diminishing.This is the very thing which is indigestible for the undemocratic elements.
Oh, that smirk on his face says it all – ' I did it my way'. You have problem with that ?
That smirk on his face.
Oh you are awful, but I like you!
Can't agree with him more on this. Brilliantly written!! Men make history and not the other way around. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders like Zardari seize the opportunity to change things for the better.
I agree with the article. Zardari is a smart politician and 100 times better than Sharif Brothers. Shehbaz Sharif is a big drama. He is no doubt hypocrate and thinks that public is foolish. It 21 centurry,media is providing great great awareness.Now people know who is mking them fool. Please no more drama.Give a chance to Imran. Honesly, the time of Zardari and Sharif brothers is over.
Sitting in Austin,Texas of course it all looks like Zen work. You have to be ruled by Zardari here in the heartland to find out what this nation is going through?
Going by this logic… Our cricketers will spend time in jail and will be received like heroes upon returning to motherland ? Become head of the Cricket board and represent Pakistani squad at the next Olympics ?
Zardari is a great man and the saviour of Pakistan
We can not deny the fact that where Mr Zardari is famous for corruption and what so ever but he is also known as a man of strong nerves.Through out his life he passed through many tough stages but he turned out of them as a consistant person.
Yes offcourse,he made some mistakes in the past but in his this era he gave birth to the "Politics of Tolerence" in the history of Pakistan.We must give him a credit to start a good and new trend in our country which in my opinion will turn into a true democracy very soon.
If you read the article with a mind set of "I hate Zardari" then probably it is the wastage of your time to read the article. If you believe in logic, then it is very hard to deny the arguments given by the writer. Apart from other sins, one of his sin is that he is very "chalak."
I guess thats the only way to make sense of it
The writer has made very nice comments.but these comments work in countries where really democracy works,where genuine leaders lead their people,where people power and opinion is respected,where moral values dominates in politics,where rule of law is respected,where open cheating is prohibited in politics,where leaders and politicians are mindful of their people's aspirations. Its very easy to write an article in USA where democratic norms are respected,but a country where more than half of its chlidren are underweight,7 million children are out of school, where government depts have been paralyzed,where courts orders are desecrated,where non-technical people are assigned positions for which they are totally incapable,its very hard here in this country to write for this president.Majority of the people are of the opinion that current government is the most corrupt in the history of the country and new elections should be held now.But government high-ups are disrespecting the public opinion and this what folks dislike.perhaps some people will have a dissidence with me and majority mirrors the folk's aspirations.
True that. But i think thanks to the media we are getting their slowly and surely.
I am shocked, I am suprised…. still few people are there who are supporting Zardari. Oh my God. May Allah protect us from corrupt leaders and from supporters of corrupt leaders. Ameen. May we see soon a true and an honest leader for Pakistan. Because of evil thinking & corrupt leaders we are paying the high price.
I agree with writer view 100 percent. peoples party goverment and politics is in foavour of pakistan.
Positive legecies for Zardari …. what has this worlld come to and what was ther writer even thinking?
This is the MOST corrupt and inept goverment in the history of Pakistan. Just look at the prices before this government came to power and now and you will see a 250% increase. That ALONE should be enough to throw him out.