The writer is Executive Editor of The Express Tribune
Zardari had entered the presidency with lots and lots of baggage. “Mr 10 per cent” is Pakistan’s president, the world mocked. Being the single biggest beneficiary of his wife’s death, many of his pathological haters went searching for his hand behind the tragedy. His baggage was so heavy that every crook and crooked institution in this country felt as if God had sent for them the much-needed cover to carry on their sleaze without being made accountable. They knew by instinct that Zardari would be blamed for it all. The biggest beneficiaries were the rotten and corrupt instruments of governance. Their failure to help the Zardari government govern with any degree of effectiveness, too, used to be brushed under the Zardari baggage. We all know who besides the civil service, police, judiciary and the armed forces make up the instruments of governance. Even those who allowed a military dictator to amend the Constitution on his own and those who provided him the much-needed crutches to walk through nine long years of dictatorship were forgiven and forgotten because of Zardari. When a son of a head of an institution made billions out of thin air, the question got shunted out of sight to keep the focus on Zardari.
Zardari had nothing to do with the NRO. It had happened between the late Benazir Bhutto and former military dictator Pervez Musharraf with the US mediating. Who does not know that it was because of this very NRO that an election was held in 2008 and many of those removed and put in house arrest by the dictator could be reinstated. But it was Zardari and Zardari alone who was relentlessly assaulted using the NRO cane. It was impressed upon all those who were willing to be impressed that the NRO was drafted specifically to save Zardari from being tried for all those ‘sins’ for which he had already suffered 11 years in jail. Then began a ruthless campaign to have him sent to Swiss courts to face charges of alleged money-laundering. When everything failed, his prime minister was first herded into an impossible position and then sent home on charges of contempt of court. This, too, could be sold because of the imagined and un-imagined Zardari baggage. One only hopes that in a new set-up, this judgment is overturned. The memogate affair also comes under the same baggage rule.
After the instruments of governance, the other biggest beneficiary of Zardari’s presence in the presidency with his baggage was the crooked part of the media. Every crooked talk show host and columnist made his millions by maligning Zardari on a daily basis. One media house, which owns an NGO, received millions from the American, British and Norwegian aid agencies for running public service programmes! Many of its staffers have been receiving unexplained personal grants from the government’s secret funds. Few are running their own businesses. One runs an investigative journalism NGO and publishes in his own newspaper, half-baked and unsubstantiated ‘investigative reports’ sourcing the NGO! A well-known philanderer and drunkard pontificates through his columns and talk show discussions and gets away with it because of the Zardari baggage. Again, these crooks could escape accountability because they shouted the loudest in the campaign against Zardari, blaming him for everything bad in this country. Now that he has left the presidency, after completing his five-year term, defeating all their shenanigans to have him removed either physically or through the courts, they still seem to be after him. They want him to be tried for indulging in all those self-imagined acts of corruption during his five years in the presidency in which he is supposed to have made billions, nay trillions. Most of these people perhaps, do not even know how many zeroes are there in a billion or a trillion. They want the courts to stop him from leaving the country and escaping with his billions and trillions. Even when the murderous Taliban warned at gunpoint just before the polls that they would not let the PPP campaign, the entire media, civil society and the so-called democracy-loving political and judicial institutions adopted a callous silence without perhaps, feeling an iota of guilt.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 11th, 2013.
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COMMENTS (17)
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Come on Mr.Ziauddin! You yourself have pointed out Zardari's "baggage" in this article. Do you care why this "baggage" is there in the first place?
Thanks God; still some people are living in Pakistan who write some good things. This is a very good article, I've read abt Zardari sb. I am always in pain that why Zardari sb tolerate all those stupid things said by stupid people just bcz of they don't Zardari sb.
I feel someone has given words to my feelings in this article. It is so obvious that our nation seems confused since Mr. Zardari has left office, the glory hunters have lost their favorite scapegoat. Three months into the new regime people have come to know that how much they were misguided during last government and specially the election campaign. Is PIA giving profit all of a sudden? Are petrol price hikes reversed? Is load shedding as simple a problem as it was portrayed? And most importantly is terrorism eradicated in the first 90 days as promised? I pity guys who abused Zardari just because they thought he was the root of every problem. And that certain media group please find a new scapegoat and start a new series of ajab corruption ki ghazab kahani
The sad part is the Mr Zardari failed to realise that he had an excellent chance to make history.......instead he chose to do what he had always been doing, sad indeed.
Wow....now you want to love Zardari. This nation will never learn.
Zardari, Imelda Marcos are like top 'Brand Name' -- known all over the world.
Pakistanis didn't allow leader like Sheikh Mujib for a single day but carry Zardari over head for five full years.
Like people like president!
I appreciate writer for taking bold and straightforward view in a hypocrate society
Spin doctoring at its best. May seem quite convincing but the reality is different. While I feel that the media went overy harsh on him instead of guiding him for better governnance. One of the responders talked about the democratic framework that Zardari developed. Qudos to him for that but what use is it for the general public. The man on the street wants uninterrupted power, security, afforable food, clothing and shelter and last but not the least dignity and respect. And during the last five years he got nothing. If we go by the standards of Islam for governance, no modern leader lives up to those, however atleast the people could look for the above basic requirements to be fulfilled. Zardari's main focus during the past five years was to be in power by all means, without looking at the governance aspect. Comeon no one can deny that there was "near anarchy" in the country. I am saying this because I have been living abraod but constantly travelling back to Pakistan, atleast twice a year. I could feel the difference in traffic and behaviour of drivers. It showed people's frustration and lack of respect of law (why should i obey the law when the guy at the top is no doing it). So whatever the writer has written is his own point of view and a majority of people may not agree with him.
Absolutely brilliant. Only Ziauddin sb could have said this so effectively.
If Musharraf is under house arrest why not the civilian leader?
@Junaid
A major cause of load shedding is circular debt which results from poor electricity distribution and bill collection and financial mismanagement. After defeat in elections, PPP leader accepted that pouring money into BISP instead of ending circular debt was a blunder
@faraz: As far as energy policies go, it takes more than 5 years to set up a power plant from scratch, obviously this would mean that our energy issues would NEVER have been solved under the PPP. No matter how much you hoped and dreamed they would. All they could do was START projects that could provide us with a long term solution.
BHUTTO...............( My response to the title of the article )
history will be kinder to Zardari. he has given pakistan a framework of democracy on which future institutions can be build. look at the graceful transition of power. this is the civilised way to do things.
Zardari is just an individual and indeed sometimes an easy person to blame for everything. However, what the writer overlooks is that there are also some deeper and very understandable political economy reasons for why the middle class hates ppp so intensely. This is because of the PPP's feudal roots and patronage centered politics. Everytime ppp comes into power, it does something that causes serious institutional damage to the economy and middle class aspirations for a merit based system.
Spot in as usual Mr Ziauddin. It was a relentless five year public media trial in which thousands of NRO cases didn't matter except the one that could not be tried under Pakistani law.
The article could not come at a better time than at the pardoning of Shahrukh Jatoi which leaves the same class of citizens awestruck at the perfect implementation of Islamic clauses of Pakistan penal code.
The physical torture and economic loss caused by 10 hours load shedding, every day for 5 years is enough to hate Zardari. Btw corruption is just a catchy slogan, its the policies that matter