THE Park Lane deal is the latest in the saga of charges of corruption against Mr Asif Ali Zardari and the news about this deal carried by a leading English daily in Karachi in the first week of this month has not so far been contradicted or clarified by the presidency. The deal which came up in 1997 had a basis in fact after all, as the media reports indicate. In the final shape of the deal Mr Asif Ali Zardari and his son Bilawal Ali Zardari are reported to own 30,000 shares each in the company.

For Mr Zardari to serve as a director in the Park Lane Estates Pvt. Limited concurrently with his duties as president is clearly contrary to his constitutional responsibilities as president. Senior lawyer Senator S.M. Zafar said in a TV talk show on November 4 that under Article 43 of the constitution, the president of Pakistan could not hold a profitable position. The president resigns from other posts at the time of taking charge of his office. As mentioned by this writer in this space several times before, even combining the office of co-chairman of his political party also falls in the same category, even though it is not necessarily for profit motives, but it represents a clear conflict of interest.

Meanwhile, this will not be the first time that Bilawal's name has come up in the context of his family's dealings. In November 2007, Benazir Bhutto made phone calls from Dubai to loved ones and close associates to get her affairs in order. In her call to Bilawal she informed him about secret bank accounts that held the family's fortunes. The National Security Agency (NSA) of the US was listening, however, according to Ron Suskind (The Way of the World, 2008), who suggests that the investigators had suspected about the accounts and the ill-gotten reserves of money held in them.

These and other portentous conversations recorded by the NSA gave USA a strong weapon to play games more effectively in arranging Bhutto-Musharraf association of convenience, and protect US interests. All this of course is part of Benazir's planned return to Pakistan in 2007. On October 18, in a long procession to the mausoleum of Mr Jinnah she faced the possibility of assassination. It was at the time the worst suicide bombing in history of the country.

While she now waited for further developments in her estate in Karachi, the political events started to unfold in quick succession, leading up to the declaration of the state of emergency by General Musharraf on November 3, 2007. Trip to Dubai was an interlude before returning to Pakistan for the national elections. From all reports it is evident that she was quite apprehensive. Her address at the Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi made it possible for the assassin to take her life.

The NSA intercepts, however, have longer life as a rule. It is safe to assume that Mr Zardari lives under the shadow of this 'evidence' against Bhutto-Zardari family in his dealings with the US.

As for Bilawal Ali Zardari, he is a young man with little experience. Being next in the line of succession as chairman of People's Party he cannot expect a smooth sailing in the politics of the country. Also Mr Asif Ali Zardari as president has set himself on a course of action which would perhaps make it difficult for him to avoid its consequences.

The February 2008 elections gave a clear verdict against continuation of military rule in any shape or form in the country, and it was felt that General Musharraf was not the man to preside over transition to democracy. The Bush administration also was inclined to review its relations with him. A person to succeed the general, therefore, would have to meet double expectations support at home and abroad. Mr Zardari was perhaps acceptable to the US as the spouse of Benazir Bhutto, and by virtue of his association with a secular political party. His credentials as a right man for democracy were quite weak, however, though he started to claim succession to the position by indirectly declaring at Punjab Governor's residence that the next president of Pakistan would be a PPP jayala. But he had to first clear the decks and send the general home, and he did that by using Mr Nawaz Sharif for this purpose. It was the victory of Machiavellian power play over principle.

Those parliamentarians who voted for him obviously ignored the fact that Mr Zardari was taking the office under the shadow of charges of misdemeanour against him, and as a beneficiary of PCO of General Musharraf. Given this fact, he would feel quite comfortable with special powers that came with the position. Perhaps these parliamentarians held no strong views about this issue. All this does not augur well for transition to democracy. With the pre-PCO judiciary declaring many of the special orders established during the military rule as unconstitutional, however, his position and that of his cronies has been exposed.

The Bonaparte has feet of clay -- the NRO and charges of corruption. And blanket amnesty has carried no public support. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani claims that NRO and NRO Plus are both dead. It is also being claimed, on the other hand, that Mr Zardari would be immune from any legal proceedings against him while serving as president. The NRO provides a limited waiver and might perhaps offer presidential protection from legal action in its framework. The final verdict can be given only by the Supreme Court on this issue. The immunity to the president from prosecution, however, cannot be interpreted as broadly as it is being done in some sections of the media. How can president be given unlimited immunity, for example, for illegal or mala-fide acts committed while in office, which cannot be deemed to be in discharge of his official functions? Or holding any other office which would create conflict of interest in his duties as president?

The developments relating to NRO have been a clear setback for him. He obviously has learned nothing. He now seems to be on his new cycle of cobbling up a survival strategy. He is even ready to offer a key position to Aitzaz Ahsan, an outcast in the party, if he can help him in any manner. The purpose is to skirt around the legal requirements through give-and-take deals by means of what he calls alliance, coalition, or reconciliation. A Machiavellian power play as mentioned above. Even if he succeeds at the level of parliament, he certainly would face a stumbling block at the Supreme Court. A possible reaction at the street level cannot be ruled out as well.

Pakistan has not been very lucky in attracting high quality of leadership to serve its people. At this juncture in its history it could use some of it. Decades of neglect of citizens and the institutions built to serve them are beginning to have their impact. Neglect of agricultural reforms has empowered feudalists and pauperised the peasantry. Ignoring universal primary education is producing a semi-literate population.

The country needs effective governance, in order for the leaders to deliver their services to people. Zardari government, however, is occupied with its survival, on issues related to corruption, perks for cronies, and the legacy of 'special powers'. Mr Zardari is known to be a friend of friends and there are a lot of them around waiting for his generosity. When he travels abroad, he stays at luxurious six thousand dollars a day accommodations. How many poor could be fed at $1.25 a day for that amount? How can he claim to be a leader of the people, to serve the people and to be guided by the people? He is out of sync with reality.

izzud-din.pal@videotron.ca