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Presidential deeds
One wishes that he’d use his much gushed-about tactical smarts to instead better the lot of people he presides over.
The writer is a final-year law student at the London School of Economics and tweets @AsadRahim
Hunter S Thompson, that wildest of ‘70s journalists, once said of Richard Nixon: “He had the fighting instincts of a badger trapped by hounds. The badger will roll over on its back and emit a smell of death, which confuses the dogs and lures them in for the traditional ripping and tearing action. But (the badger) fights best on its back: rolling under the throat of the enemy and seizing it by the head with all four claws.” Asif Zardari has had his share of ill-mannered comparisons with animals, but a badger’s fighting instincts come as credit to him.
Eight years after his first political obituary was written, Zardari remains as immobile as ever within the confines of the presidency and, of most shock to his teeming enemies, seems set to stay. While the coalition grows even more bloated, the opposition has begun eating itself. Commentators, who once thought his every move imperiled the ‘khappay’ government, now see a second presidential term within reach. Enter, the routine appraisal of the president as a political genius with the necessary unscrupulousness required to lead this quintessential ‘hard country’, and you have a reasonable idea of what’s passing as informed opinion nowadays.
But we have conflated Zardari the politician with Zardari the president. Considering him a moustache-twirling anti-hero may be the less painful option, but it’s led us to skim over what his tenure has been for the country: a slow-burning catastrophe. Preoccupied as we are with issues most petty, with Swiss letters and French chateaus, we’ve lost sight of the fact that Pakistan is entering the abyss. In Balochistan, it may have already fallen through. It is a narrative of agencies and separatists, of dead settlers and disappeared persons. While charging the umpteenth committee to study ‘the crisis’, the government has instead outsourced the running of the province to the security forces. This may yet have absolved them, if anyone actually interested in healing Balochistan had been prevented from doing so. Instead, the sitting governor’s sole achievement is his YouTube hits.
And that’s the half of the country the president’s men don’t yet have an excuse for; for everything else, there’s a Shaheed-i-Jamhooriyat counter-narrative. Has Zardari not been hamstrung by judges at home and generals abroad? Has he not been savaged relentlessly by the media? Has he not been treated with disgust by urban dwellers, with their smug SMS jokes and middle class pretensions? Did he not come in at a time when the country was tottering on the proverbial brink (albeit like most of his predecessors)? Aren’t terrorism, bad economics and social inequities long-running structural problems that no one can magic away overnight? And whatever the president’s popularity ratings, have they ever kept his party from winning by-election after by-election? These claims might as well be infallible truths for all the difference they make.
But the government cannot absolve itself of what it’s actually there for: governance. And by dint of being co-chairman of the incumbent party, the president isn’t a benign symbol of the federation — nor does he pretend to be. Yet, it’s better to pin his economic performance on technocrats, Raymond Davis’ release on the judiciary, the handling of Salala and Osama on the army and Americans, the floods’ devastation on God — any shirking of responsibility, really, that will allow this government to be the first to crawl to the finish line.
This may have been passable if our problems weren’t so dire. As the Shia bloodbath across Balochistan continues — becoming a pattern that is as horrifying as it is unprecedented — what institution is there left to pin it on? How systematic will their slaughter have to be for it to become a point of interest? Would the Eighteenth Amendment (and the NFC award and the one or two other lines of boilerplate the president’s tenure has given us over the last four-and-a-half years) suffice instead?
Then again, maybe we should prefer benign neglect from the executive to what happens when it actually does something. As warring factions playing on crime and ethnicity tear Karachi apart, we are told to celebrate the president’s exceptional efforts towards reconciliation — one that never went beyond the coalition in Islamabad. After Zulfiqar Mirza is appointed to flood a city — one screaming for deweaponisation — with even more weapons licenses, we’re made to wonder what all that fuss in Lyari was about. As mobs driven to rage by loadshedding in Punjab descend on the homes of PML-Q legislators, we’re expected to extol Raja Parvaiz Ashraf as our latest prime minister-loyalist. He might be installing private helipads and power lines in his first month, but doesn’t the elite despise grassroots successes anyway?
And standards of living? Economic growth has been flat-lining the longest time in recent memory. Yet, it’s not as if the economy’s exactly collapsed … at least, that’s what Those Technocrats tell us. Drones? The president has been quoted by Bob Woodward as saying: “Kill the seniors. Collateral damage worries you Americans. It doesn’t worry me.” For an issue so obfuscated by his aides, that is remarkable straight-talk from the man himself.
Why blame him though? Shoring up this insane state of affairs is a legion of confederates. If the MQM may sometimes shift uncomfortably in its seat from time to time, the ANP has yet to even budge. And what display of political pragmatism is complete without the Chaudhrys of Gujrat? It goes to show that, for electoral relevance in Punjab, even the houses of Zahoor Elahi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto can set aside their legendary hatred for one another.
The president is entitled to completing his term and serving a subsequent one if parliament so chooses. One only wishes that he’d use his much gushed-about tactical smarts to instead better the lot of the people he presides over. But those two aims — rescuing the country and perpetuating oneself — may be mutually exclusive ones in Zardari’s playbook.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 7th, 2012.
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Reader Comments (43)
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Quite a surprising change to see an article of this sort on ET. Only someone the author’s age would write something so totally inconsiderate of the way our media’s begun to run. Good work.
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Asad – Bravo. That’s the hardest hitting article I have seen from you till date. But be ready…here come the Jiyalas…
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Spot on.
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As a person who is sick of hearing Mr. Zardari described as a Machiavellian genius instead of a crook who throws money and government positions at everyone who stands against him, I think Khan hits the nail on the head here. Gone is the hope that a leader can effectively galvanize Pakistan into reforming itself. Perhaps the dream itself is not so far-fetched, but the fact that we have seen such ugly leadership for so long is making it sound more and more like a fairy-tale. It won’t be easy. Khan has only mentioned the tip of the iceberg here, but even that is troubling. Hope to see similar articles that say something instead of just talking. Good stuff.
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A fine example of balanced political commentary. You have hit the nail on its head with this article. Thanks for the wonderful article and for allowing us to view the political scene with your eyes, bravo!
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This article is a blessing in disguise in support of Zardari. Everyone knows Balochistan is bleeding because of “security forces” past mistakes (Mr.Mush famously said Baloch have always been against Pakistan since 1947..so much for considering Baloch as countrymen) …. as for as Power ..look at India …Power is no easy problem to solve..with circular debt…its even more tough..Govt needs massive amounts of money….it can come in as aid or economic success. For all the sugar talk..PAK Army takes all the “aid dollars”, and Economic success comes only when there is Stability (any kind of stability – democratic, dictatorship etc) ..Pakistan has been anything but Stable. Foreign Policy is run by GHQ, so GHQ must accept the blame for War on Terror. To Zardari’s credit..he/PPP is trying his best to normalize trade relations with several countries ..India in particular …all because he understands Paksitan needs massive amount of money to do anything. Zardari might be corrupt but who isn’t in the world and the whole world proceeds forward. Remember Zardari actually chose to spend time in Jail than to run away to UK like Mr.Mush. Pakistanis need to realize…corrupt men are better than fundamentalists ..until then…for pakistanis all roads will lead to THE STONE AGE!..so Please Wake UP ….
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The writer says “even the houses of Zahoor Elahi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto can set aside their legendary hatred for one another.”
Even after the passage of 40 long years some still want to continue to throw oil in the fire of hatred and continue to see it in the third generation as well. A person who is a student in a London School should not promote this kind of hatred. In fact he should be happy that the hatred between the families has ended. Just like he should be happy that PPP is carrying both MQM and ANP for the peace in Pakistan.
There is not going to be any meaningful change in Pakistan till we start rearranging our priorities. Nobody has money to spend on public, we are happy to eat grass but continue to make more missiles and bombs. Pakistan can either have over half a million army with all the perks and high expenses on defense and debt servicing or take care of its people. It cannot do both no matter who the ruler is. It would be better to write about a solution than restate the problems that everybody knows about.
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Not a bad article indeed. However governance is difficult when you have stay orders issued of actually hundreds of billions of taxes (and I am not exaggerating), when while you invest heavily in anti-terrorism and people like Sufi Muhammad and Maulana Rasheed (aka Mullah Burqa) are honorably discharged by Courts despite video footage implicating them, when a profitable LNG deal is scrapped by the highest Court, stay order is issued on reformation of tax collection system and when as we just saw the forces behind Balochistan killings are threatened when they refuse to appear in Court but they call the courts bluff and Court backs out.
Politicians are ninety percent selfish and ten percent patriotic: this is true almost everywhere. And when you keep sabotaging all their effort you cannot expect them to give a performance.
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what kind of editorial policy allows critique of our dear leader this way? ET be shamed. the president has reconciled all, and pakistan is on its way to being the number one country in the world.Recommend
I lol’d @ badger. sublime comparisonRecommend
Brilliant job, Asad.
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Well that got my attention. but just because const. amendments are the only achievement of this govt, doesnt mean theyre not an achievement. agreed though — in any situation that they should not be the only accomplishment.Recommend
It came to a point where I felt I was the only one who felt this way. Fact is that the government has truly overcome the public’s expectations of their basic role: governance. While I acknowledge the op-ed, in limited space constraints, cannot go too deeply into the structural problems plaguing the country, our disillusionment with the government has started manifesting itself in ways that are also practical and technical. The room for actualization of potential in Pakistan, which of course has no shortage of potential, has declined immeasurably because it is considered foolish to stake one’s hopes in it otherwise.
But this also means electing via a new, informed polity. The problem does not lie with Zardari alone, but also with his peers. And how is one to cast away an entire political class? It takes generations. But in this example, it is a terrible continuation of previous generations. With Pakistan, as always, we need to start thinking of alternatives.Recommend
Problem with the incumbent government is that it thinks every other organ of the state is to blame for the misgovernance than the government itself.
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it is the coalition that is the lifeblood. someone should tell opposition thatRecommend
@salim
‘The room for actualization of potential in Pakistan, which of course has no shortage of potential, has declined immeasurably because it is considered foolish to stake one’s hopes in it otherwise.’
And the ‘alternative’ is? You live in the US or UK right?Recommend
Zardari will be elected again by grace of AllahRecommend
Simmer down.Recommend
Economic growth will take a lot more than good governance. It requires sound technical management. Author is right to point out that govt needs to take responsibility in the first place, but what is crucial is that there is a sound economic team.
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Critical articles like these are useful because they advance the conversation. But that doesnt mean this makes it any different from, say, someone bashing the other institutions also creditably mentioned in this article. We must progress in a way that is constructive.Recommend
This article and Express Tribune do not meld well.Recommend
@chanderpaul: agree. so preocuupied we are with tarring the whole project, we need to still somehow appreciate the day-by-day moving ahead we make. the 18th amendment is not perfect, but it shouldnt be rejected on the basis that govt has done nothing else.Recommend
‘And by dint of being co-chairman of the incumbent party, the president isn’t a benign symbol of the federation — nor does he pretend to be. ‘ Pretend or no, has that ever made a difference? the constitution does not, can not permit a dual officeholder of this nature.Recommend
If the President does it, that means it’s not illegal.Recommend
Well, well. So ET wakes up to this realization, like the rest of the country, four and a half years later? Pretty opportune timing. The president was voted through by electoral college, unanimously I think? Unless you count Mushahid, if memory serves. And when you have all the boys with him again, will we also be hearing all this again a few years from now?Recommend
Agree that the president-as-political-genius context is making us lose sight of where our country is going. But disagree that the government has outsourced its activities: a lot of the time, they actually are “hamstrung” by judges and genreals. “Infallible truth” it is, but not making a difference is not right.Recommend
@chanderpaul yeah because the 18th Amendment has made incredible difference to Pakistan and to my life. Good to see other people prioritizing as well. Come on. These amendments should be highlights if Pakistan weren’t the nuclear state in the eye of the global storm. Reform needs to start from the ground up. But we’d rather make this marginal, top-down tweaking.Recommend
this is the first and only article i’ve read critical of zardari that makes no mention of his corruption. it was all in context and non-ad hominem. which is even more depressing: even without the allegations ridiculous corruption, there’s enough to truly indict zardari as a presidentRecommend
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf is Prime Minister?Recommend
Mr. Khan, this article was incredibly well written and poignant. It’s always a pleasure to read your work on Etribune. Looking forward to what you have to say next.
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Lol @ comments. People bickering over significance of 18th Amendment. Yes, let’s discuss that for hours, shall we? Not like there’s much else to go on.Recommend
I weep for Lyari.Recommend
The president has been quoted by Bob Woodward as saying: “Kill the seniors. Collateral damage worries you Americans. It doesn’t worry me.”
when Woodwar’ds Book Obama’s Wars was published, this statement was widely picked up, but has now been forgotten. But the thing is, even in Woodward’s book it was left to an ‘unattributed account’. Unattributed means that Woodward didnt want to share his source, not necessarily undermines the veracity of the claim. the only reason it should appear in national papers is that the statement was never denied by the govt.Recommend
Optimism dashedRecommend
The Jiyalas aren’t chirping a peep. That’s because he’s represented each of their reasons in the fourth paragraph. What now?
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@ Damas
throw the baby out with the bathwater sir?Recommend
If anything ruined PPP in Karachi, it was Zulfiqar Mirza. He was the lightning rod behind the whole Lyari affair, then disappeared when it actually went into meltdown. How dare he incite an episode he never had the courage, or individual strength, to stare down and face? The people of Karachi are fed up and tired of imposing on them Home Ministers with an axe to grind. And Zulfiqar Mirza’s axes were in the dozens. Thanks to how long he stayed as Home Minister, he was able to put quite a few of his ambitions into action. The PPP has no shortage of capable men, but when it chooses Zulfiqar Mirza as one of its main parts, how can it expect anything but failure?Recommend
@Mirza
Really can only find fault with your analysis, chap. The relationship between the Chaudhrys and the Bhuttos is replete with episodes of fake cases, anti-govt scheming, and even bloodshed. But the fact is that the two parties i.e. PPP and PML-Q, or at least, the PPP and the Chaudhries, have been built around opposing each other. It’s a mantra that has given the Chaudhries votes during ZAB and Benazir’s time, and put them in pretty direct crossfire of Jiyala opposition when Musharraf was peaking post 2002. So you see this more than angry family feuds that should be forgotten because we’re now more civilized. this is about making a brand. and its about not caring whatever about that brand when you toss it aside and join the zardari govt.Recommend
“It goes to show that, for electoral relevance in Punjab, even the houses of Zahoor Elahi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto can set aside their legendary hatred for one another.”
Also, see ‘Moonis Elahi’Recommend
Maybe if generals and judges were kept at arm’s length, the PPP wouldn’t have as much of a Shaheed narrative in the first place.Recommend
If people are burning the homes of PMLQ, that also leaves responsibilty on PML N, which deliberately did nothing to stop the mobs from rioting and afterward registered FIRS against everyone except assailants.Recommend
The shame of it that SMBB is being used to justify the counternarrative. This is not why people voted for this party. It is not. But we can bring change again very very soon. and by change, i don’t mean PTI and its band of Internet diehards. I mean grassroots change.Recommend
Brilliant piece of writing by one of Tribunes finest. Keep them coming
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