![the fabulous mr zardari the fabulous mr zardari](https://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/411407-AakarPatelNew-1342887346.jpg)
Like Manmohan Singh, he rarely allows himself to be interviewed by his own media because journalism on the subcontinent is quite poor. And so, while there is much reported about him, and rightly, his defence is rarely taken up.
Let’s look at him as he enters the most difficult period of his tenure.
Zardari’s official website says that after school he “further pursued his education in London where he studied Business”. This is the subcontinental code for “attended some sort of institution but couldn’t get a degree”, so clearly he didn’t pursue it well.
There’s no shame in this and it doesn’t preclude a successful career in our politics. Not a single member of the Nehru-Gandhi family was able to graduate from college between Jawaharlal Nehru (who passed from Trinity College in 1910) and Rahul Gandhi in 1994. In these eight decades, two generations of the dynasty studied and flunked. Indira failed in Oxford and Rajiv failed in Cambridge. Child prodigy Sanjay could not even clear high school. Widows Sonia and Maneka passed school, but married early and never attended college. Priyanka graduated around the same time as Rahul.
Zardari may not have academic skills or interests, but he is first rate at understanding problems. Like all Indian prime ministers since 1991, he has been in power without a parliamentary majority for his party. But he has been skilful at playing with a poor hand. He is like one of the later Mughals who had to use tact and guile rather than force, which was unavailable to them. Like those hapless royals, he heads a state with expenses far in excess of revenue and a military not entirely in his control.
Even so, he has weathered more crises than any Pakistani leader: memogate, NRO, Raymond Davis, judges’ restoration, CIA, drone strikes, energy shortage, corruption in this cabinet, an aggressive Supreme Court and an aggressive media. And he has done this without losing his cool or exhibiting signs of distress.
With great skill, he has kept the Pakistan Peoples’ Party together. He has united it in its anger at how the judiciary has behaved with it. Initially sulking leaders like Amin Fahim have stayed with it, and Zardari continues to command the loyalty of men of the calibre of Aitzaz Ahsan. As president, he doesn’t have executive power, but there is no question that he is the undisputed leader of the PPP. His word is final. The jiyalas have unconditionally accepted him as the heir to the house of Bhutto. This has mainly to do with his marriage, but it helps that he is temperamentally a PPP man. Internationally, he’s seen as moderate, more so than Nawaz Sharif or Imran Khan. It is Zardari, more than his rivals, who is more aligned with what the rest of the world thinks on the war on terror.
As a politician, Zardari has no equal in Pakistan. He has kept his disparate coalition together and managed the difficult MQM brilliantly. He has coolly let go those partisans of his whose passions got the better of them — Zulfiqar Mirza and Babar Awan.
His patient response to what many see as the excesses of the judiciary will eventually benefit him. His political goals are modest. Unlike Imran, who says he will transform Pakistan in three months of power, all Zardari wants to claim is heading an elected government that finished its term, a first for Pakistan. Flexible (except for his unbending posture on the Swiss letter) and pragmatic, he’s the sort of leader Pakistan should have. If he had a freer hand he would have normalised ties with India.
As a man, he is personally courageous and there is no other example of a Pakistani leader who faced being jailed with such stoicism. There was a BBC report, which claimed Zardari attempted suicide in jail during Nawaz Sharif’s second term. If true, this was probably tactical more than out of frustration. Zardari is not the sort of man who gives up because a few things are going against him and his years as president have shown us this. He looks ahead and doesn’t wring his hands too much.
The election of Abdul Qadir Gilani, despite the ganging-up against him of the PML-N, the PTI and the Jamaat-e-Islami should give pause to those who think Zardari’s popularity is approaching single digit.
Multan is home ground for Shah Mahmood Qureshi and this result should also worry the tsunami-wallahs.
Happy birthday, Mr President.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 22nd, 2012.
COMMENTS (116)
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Oh dear to praise a man like him hahaha Yosh our country has gotten immune to all the crisis they are facing! Well that's one way of handling things with homo sapiens, good Job Government that slow poisoning is showing its results. KEEP IT UP!!!
this article assures that the world is going to end in 2012. dude he has only manages to keep his throne and sacrificed everything that was needed to keep the throne. sovereignty, security , self respect and what not. atleast think before you write.
First - Happy Birthday to you Sir. In fact our opportunists and their collaborators never ever feel themselves comfortable with intelligent and patriotic persons in country and this is the main reason of conspiracies against the present President. The day Mr. Asif Ali Zardari was elected as President all gangsters from different shades lined-up against him. They are now using some senior judges of both LHC and SC plus ever ready journalists and anchor persons of different media houses. Our whole system has been brought down under multiple chaos and anarchy which will lead us to nowhere. Right now the present setup in the ruling seat can only bring democracy in the country though they are now allowed through different underhand dirty tricks. I hope people will very soon understand why all this is being done.
@Dr. Saifur Rehman: What rubbish, doctor sahib. Which civil war was ended by Zardari?
If only the sickening anti-India mindset of the powers that be in Pakistan, and vice versa in India could change, lives of people in the three countries of the sub-continent would change for the better. If the Zardari couple have sincerely tried for this, hats off to them.
Wow! After reading such crap I start to doubt this notion of freedom of speech. For me this article is one more reason NOT to vote for PPP in the upcoming elections.
The saying has it (somewhat) that the modern world will see the evil winning support of people (alike) - in huge proportion! My country is going through the worst tragedy and any one that cannot see it is either living in his own world or has an ulterior motive in turning a blind eye from these tragic times - the present that has broken the back of the middle class and the poor population of the country!
Beautiful and thought provoking article. Well done Mr. Patel.PPP has not been allowed to formulate its own policies and act upon them with free hand since 1977 notwithstanding its sharing the powers with other powerful institutions during this period that too after long intervals. We should strengthen the hands of Mr. Zardari to take Pakistan out of crises it is facing both internals and externals. Long live Zardari.
@sick of this nonsense: It doesn't matter whether he is here or in London. If he were so bold, his kids should have been here, in the good and bad of the commons.
I agree with the writers views Mr. Zardari is nothing if not a good politician. However, his big failings are on the corruption front and on the fact that the law and order situation continues to erode under his role.
By and large we agree with this objective article, though I' don't belong tp PPP. People in Pakistan should not fall for the false propaganda by the right extremists and vested elements/ parties against Pr Zardari but should face the truth. Though the President is far from perfect he has done a lot for the country, whether we agree with him or not. Finally a balanced and true analysis about the President.
@Dr Saifur Rehman: He has ended civil war in the country ;And what is happening in lyari,balochistan and waziristan and FATA. your comparison of AAZ with Nelson mendela is interesting there are however some insignificant differences such as as : NM was a man of integrity and he did it for his people not to save his multibillion dollar empire.
@Zzzz: @Dr Saifur Rehman: If there is prize for stupidity or dumbness then i will nominate you I fully agree with you.
More than anything else what Pakistan needs needs a continuous democratic process and for that I give the credit to Mr. Zardari. Ofcourse we have corruption, energy crisis, terrorism but all these issues are mainly a result of weak democracy and thus weak instituitions. Once the democracy takes strong roots, and army is under people's dictates, foriegn policy is made in parliament, things would take a positive turn in future. I believe that.
@Tariq Malik: Lol....Brilliant piece of writing !!! I am a personal fan of the president. He is a perfect politician who has survived it all. Imran Khans tsunami's defeat in the next election will be his final checkmate to the military establishment of Pakistan. PPP is sure to win the next election because the supreme court of Pakistan is making them a martyr again. Hats of to asif zardari, the true son of jinnah's dream for Pakistan. Happy birthday, prez.keep up the good work. Best wishes from the people of India. I sincerely hope you can amend the constitution to extend your tenure by at least two more terms. You are Pakistan's last hope. Take care
I may not like Rahul Gandhi but he is M.Phil. in Economics from Oxford University.
No matter how much you justifiably dislike Zardari for his corruption and terrible governance, you have to admire his guile and tenacity as a politician.
Abdul Qadir Gilani won by a much reduced margin of just 4000 votes, much less than his father's 24000 votes margin in 2008, but he won nonetheless.
The fact that he defeated a candidate supported by the entire combined opposition (PML N, PTI, JI, DPC, etc) shows that PPP's vote bank in Southern Punjab remains essentially intact in spite of poor governance. Recent by-elections show that rural Sindh is very similar in its support of the PPP.
It shows that a government's performance is not a decisive factor in winning or losing elections in Pakistani democracy.
Mr. zardari is an intelligent politician unfortunately he has been defame by establishment controlled media but it didn't stop him from growing as a successful politician.Pakistan needs him & only time will tell his critics & all people who abuse him that he is a great leader of Pakistan as did with B.B Shaheed & Z.A Bhutto after their sudden deaths even their critics praise them .Under his Leadership Pakistan is passing & will pass successfully from very difficult & important transitional period of dictatorship to democracy & he has the ability to make this country democratic ,prosperous progressive state.Happy birthday Mr. president Happy returns of the day may you have many more.
@Dr Saifur Rehman: If there is prize for stupidity or dumbness then i will nominate you. His politics of reconciliation (Aao sab mil kar lootein) literally means I loot, come join me in the loot and let us all loot and the nation will be mere spectators. This govt has done nothing except for looting and is fully supported in its loot by MQM, ANP, PML-N, PML-Q, JUI...... (all of them). He has been able to loot for five years without being kicked out by establishment, becuase the establishment is itself busy in looting. I wonder how long this era of looters will continue. May Lord open our eyes and give us the will to overthrow this so called democracy of loot.
Completing the first term is extremely important as it will prevent intervention by the army for ever and in future no political party will support the dictators Mr ten percent !!! IS THERE ONE PAKISTANI WHO CAN COME FORWOR AMDRD AND SAY HE PAID MONEY TO ZARDARI?? Zardari is laying the foundations of modern democratic Pakistan and in the process he has happily accepted ridicule, blame lies propaganda and character assassination . His is plan is to empower people to choose whoever they like GET ONE MORE ZARDARI and Pakistan will be an enviable prosperous modern state
All the king's horses and all the king's men; Together couldn't shake Zardari in his den.
Dear mr. Musa, if your understanding of principals of Jurisprudence are based on statements of some politico or for that matter Geo tv. I have very little to discuss. I hold no brief for Mr. Zardari and I can find quite a few faults in the way he may have handled political matters, but governance, i repeat is a specialized job of the beauracracy and that beauracracy does not exist. Almost all the services are exhtortionists, the few who pretend to be honest are basically phsycopaths. This country has a rogue beauracracy, Judiciary and law enforcement agencies. Add to that a weak coalation government and we have what we have.
Ya, i agree with the author that Zardari is a shrewd & skilled politician. And in the current turmoil in the country he's is the only capable man to be the head of the state.
Its my firm belief that the PPP politicians are corrupt but I agree with the author on the account that there is no brilliant a politician than Mr Asif Ali Zardari. If I could only wish that he would have had good governance too, than this country would have shaped better. His idea of having good relations with India is fantastic as MQM endorses it too; but alas the establishment, ISI and Army will never allow it. Dhanda khatam hojaiga
I think I have read a sensible article after a long time. Governance is a specialized job of the bureaucracy. There has been no development of human resourse in the bureacracy, specially in the last 15 years. Musharaf didnt need to build them because he stuffed the service with Army personnel. The fact that the peoples party has been able to govern at all is a miracle in itself. Mr. Zardari is perhaps the most exciting politician Pakistan has to offer for a while. Methink
Dear all
Everybody is practically blind. Mr Patel only praised president´s politicking skills not his governance. Yet every idiot is commenting ;´´we only had 2 % growth´´ or ´´zardari destoryed industry´´. READ before commenting.
Dear Mr. writer Govts are elected to govern not to complete terms... Japan would be an exceptional example for this. Elections are near, a wise man once said its easy to be number one but its very hard to stay there. Zardari is a failure however you may look at it. Dollar dropped from around 60 to presently 94 our external debt gone up from 6.5 trillion to an astonishing 14+ trillion. Unemployment is on the rise, crime is on the rise in the three provinces that PPP controls its out of control, there is perpetual loadshedding due to which our agricultural and our industrial output has dropped significantly. 4 years and they havent been able to fix anything, your whole analysis is myopic and below par. Come into the real world sir, and claimming Multan as a victory against all opp is sad because Gillani jr was against an ind candidate who had never fought elections no major opp leader of any party visited there Gillani Sr. had spent around 20 billion rupees in the constituence and yet still was barely able to help his son win by a margin of 3579. Being from South Asia you would understand that mid term or bye elections dont have as much value here as it would in a more developed country. Here the candidate is chosen on the basis of what small gains he would be able to deliver in the remaining amount of time. I would love to see you make another analysis after the general elections and still come up with this bravado.
Indian and Indians want a weak Pakistan. So there admiration for Mr. Zardari is obvious. Now they have no need to worry about Pakistan, as Zardari has done the damage which will recover in decades if the next clean government comes into power. So Indian are really happy with PPP and its allies.
@hamza khan: There are a lot of Indians who would like to see a stable and prosperous Pakistan because an unstable Pakistan is a massive threat to India's stability and its current goal of high percentage growth in economy, poverty alleviation and regional stability. Therefore, you need to look at things from others perspective as well.
Lolz... this is international journalism .... hehehehe... what can say? ... keep it up for the idiots to read...heheh
Mr. Zardari People may hate you (or love you) but they cannot ignore you in Pakistani politics.
wow, 77 comments.
President Asif Ali Zardari is Asian Nelson Mandela.His 14 years jail without any guilt and his slogan of ‘Pakistan khapay’ on the occasion of martyrdom of BB shaheed, reflects his inner anti- apartheid will against Pakistan’s apartheid regime. Unfortunately Pakistan is a country, where establishment has divided its people into different races, sects and religions. Like Nelson Mandela, President Zardari rendered great sacrifice to change this system. It is because of President Zardari’s sacrifices today establishment and its political wing (section of media) are worried so much, they have lost their effective tool of apartheid advocacy. Asif Ali Zardari challenged Pakistan’s apartheid regime and we all Pakistanis should remain thankful to him for his great legendary struggle to put an end to apartheid regime in Pakistan. President Zardari has forgiven his worst enemies. He announced general amnesty for all. His reconciliation policy and followed footnotes of BB shaheed “Democracy is best revenge.”Every honest Pakistani sees him as most revered statesman. This is the time to pay tribute to great vision of great leader of the east ‘President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari’. According to will of Alfred Nobel, Nobel peace prize shall be awarded to the person who “shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” Now, come to the incumbent President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari’s personality and assess his score according to Nobel’s will. Energy crisis, fragile economy, price hike and law and order situation of country could only be addressed by reconciliation policy introduced by President Asif Ali Zardari. He has taken very tough decisions for the sake of country and poor people of Pakistan. He has forgiven his worst enemies, those who put him behind the bars though he was innocent, tortured him brutally and eventually ruined his family. His act of forgiveness is aimed at prosperity and development of poor nation. During his presidency he has kept good relations with neighbouring countries to maintain peace in this region. He has ended civil war in the country. He has given equal rights to all nations, ethnicities, races and minorities of his country. Honestly speaking President Asif Ali Zardari is “Asian Nelson Mandela”. In fact his greatness is far much than Mandela.The Nobel Peace Prize Committee appears to be changing the requirements for the prize to more than just arms reductions and peace talks. In 2004, Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai won the prize for her dedication to sustainable development. In 2003, Muslim women’s rights advocate Shirin Ebadi won it after her imprisonment for speaking against her government. President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari has also contributed somewhat very special to humanity and it is worthy to be followed by mankind.
Fully agree with Jpy!
Agree with writer! Might not like him but agree that he is a good politician.
@Hamza Khan
of course an indian will want to see asif zardari. what better way to see pakistan go down the drain.
Let me see, the Great Khan flanked by Hafiz Saeed and Malik Ishaq, immediately comes to mind. Another General in the mould of Gen Yahya Khan is another possibility.
i’ll take pervez musharraf any day of the week.
Suffice it to recall that when Zardari and his party were not in power, he did not run away. He stayed, was imprisoned but did not strike a deal for 10 long years. And he is not known to hobnob with terrorists like Ilyas Kashmiri. And he did not try to depose a CJP, because the CJP was inconvenient.
Can you cite 2 reasons in favour of Musharraf?
Zardari & PPP are the best options for the survival of democracy & secularism in the present day Pakistan. Rest are all competiting to appease the mullas & fundamentalists
A virtue is being made out of school dropouts. Being a School drop out does not guarantee greatness. And it is a fact that most school dropouts are duds especially if they had the means to pursue studies.
@usman: If all people of Pakistan hate Zardari as you claim, how Can Abdul Qadir Gilani win an election with a comfortable majority in Multan inspite of the entire media portaying a doomsday scenario of PPP govt. Even the grant alliance of PML-N, PTI, JI & the Judiciary overreach failed to stop him from winning the seat. This is the trailer of the real movie to be released soon. Usually in by elections even the anti incumbancy is a major factor for all ruling elites
@zeeshan: Then vote him out at next time.
Very well written article with a breath of fresh air. Generally the articles you read about Mr. Zardari are biased and mainly used to throw mud at him and make him punching bag since he married Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. May he live long and give a tolerant, stable and progressive Pakistan.
its not head and heels its head over heels.
I understand where many of the Pakistanis are coming from - we Indians are positively biased by President Zardari's actions on the foreign relations front where personal credit is due - without his initiative, I don't think we would see this level of progress on multiple fronts (although as far as his individual courage goes, I might prefer a more timid but honest Dr. Manmohan Singh than a gutsy but amoral Zardari - but that's just me); we also see the PPP as more moderate than the other options, although this level of generalization is probably highly error prone; however, as a leader Zardari has certainly shown more substance than Manmohan Singh. I am sure that Dr. Singh is also reasonably popular with Pakistanis as an Indian leader even though we feel that he is just a puppet and hasn't manage to do much as PM - we are not seeing the same picture and hence have different views.
Brilliant work by the author. Will he accept a reward for fudging some facts?
@A simple Pakistani: @Kay: @elementary: @hamza khan:
You guys left nothing for me say as everything I would have said had already been summed up in your comments. Appreciate your analytical intellects and honesty.
only an indian can admire him!!!!!!!!
@sick of this nonsense: No one is questioning his bravery or his personal achievement over the last decade. The only concern I can see in people eyes is a region impoverished because of bad governance. Subjective depiction for a person who has no accomplishment as a leader other than exploiting other parties does not earn a right for such an article.
Only an indian can admire him. Otherwise if you ask any Pakistani from age 8 to 80 and illiterate to Post Doc and from Peon to Secretary from Hawker to business tycoon he will tell you definitely another story.
@ Aakar Patel: May Allah (or Bhagwan in your case) also bless India with such a "Fabulous leader".
No mention of that famous percentage of 10? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Does an astute politician travel to his Estate in Paris when the country is awash with floods?
Despite Mr Zardari's weaknesses, his achievement in not letting the civilian set up rolled by its detractors is great. We should be grateful to him that he is trying to finish the term of his government without extra constitutional intervention.
I have said before in ET, I say again: Zardari is the best thing Pakistan had ever had. In its 65 years. It will be a tragedy if he is removed. I agree word to word with the author. I have also said that in the next election PPP will come back because it has the best organisation.
Happy Birthday Mr President!
"He has done this without losing his cool or exhibiting signs of distress." Yeh in those stress days he only went for appendix operation to DUBAI :P
But yeh its a fact that he has succeed to keep Mian Nawaz Shairf ( 2nd Majority ) alone in all political terms. It would have been an early nightmare for Mr.Gillani if he had to get vote of confidence from parliament in those stressful days.
I have an alternate suggestion. If he is such a brilliant leader, why don't you import him to India and make him your PM? When he brings out a great political show and your economy tanks from current GDP growth rate to below 2% (official rate), please feel free to re-write this appraisal :)
@hamza khan: Honestly, we have no favorites. Yes, we get concerned when people like Pervez Musharraf does Kargil like adventure, and puts 1.4 billion lives in danger.
Pakistani's dislike/hatred towards Zardari will do more harm than good. Personalizing issue will only set you up for dissapointment. Looking at Nawaz Sharif and Zardari, think Pakistani leadership has come a long way. It's not easy to govern countries like Pakistan or India. Pakistan have patience, Rome was not built in a day, governance will improve; success will come with time and hard work.
aakar manmohan is NOT corrupt. rest is ok.
What an analysis. I have started liking Zardari and my vote will go for Zardari.
A very well written article indeed. I guess no one would deny Zardari being one of the most intelligent of all the politicians in the country. He has come clean through all the situations he has been forced into. But the question that has not been answered is what was the end result of all his manipulations and the intelligent actions? Do we have a better Pakistan than what was there four and half years ago? Do we have more of the Political stability in the country? Has the corruption been reduced in this regime? What is the stature of Pakistan in the international community, especially when the British papers publish headlines asking Cameron to count his fingers after shaking hands with Zardari? What is the situation of Peace and Prosperity in Pakistan? What became of all the Taliban and militant based insurgencies and activities in the country? Has he been able to protect the sovereignty of the country (in terms of Salalah issue and drone attacks)? I guess if you included those, then that would have been a much better statement to say that he actually failed despite all his intelligence. Or maybe he still won, the one who lost at all fronts is Pakistan and its people!
It is difficult to expect such better understanding on Pakistani politics by Indian Journalist. So definitley appreciate Mr. Patel for his in-depth knowledge and analysis of Pakistani politics.
I personally think that the actions of Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhary(CJP) is making more symapthies for corrupt PPP & Zardari and only person to blame for intact PPP vote bank is CJP.
Writer misses the whole truth. Zardari was planted by US after loosing Musharraf and US knows how to water such plants. Whole Pakistani politics has been maneuvered by US successfully during last 4 years. US does not want any disturbance in Pakistan until they achieve their goals in afghanistan.
Admiring the Machiavillian prowess of Zardar? People of pakistan will continue to suffer as long as he is in power. Rest of the world's perspective is only that of war on terror ,I invite them to come live in pakistan as commoner in the sweltering heat of july and see if they still want to keep him in power.
US perspective does not take into account welfare of people of pakistan,they will happily support even a dictator as long as their objectives on WOT are met.
Finally, at long last ----- someone here has let reason rather than prejudice comment on a fairly reasonable man, our President. Indeed, he proved his cool in the face of adversaries, especially when Sharif's left a precedence when challenged by the Supreme Court. We all know and we all rememeber how the government of then PM Nawaz handled its tussle with the then judiciary from outright physical attack on the sitting court to inhouse intrigues Rafiq Tarar carrying some "Bags" to Balochistan and instigated revolt within the bench. Zardari knows and has all these "wonderful examples" but no the man kept his cool and faced all sorts of shenigans. If Zardari Government failed to accomplish much then we must blame those who betrayed us, the people in the media, the judiciary and some novice like Imran Khan and Guls and the likes who created so many obstruction and engaged the ruling party in defending itself and thus could not perform what it should have and wanted to. Shame on all such forces who hold their vested interest over our national interest. Zaradri is a smart man and all these political dwarfs keep guessing his next move and it's good so let them learn politics in the next 8 more months then we can have elections.
Mere fact that an Indian journalist has to write something good about the favorite scapegoat of Pakistan speaks volumes of the conditioned bias the consensus elected President has to endure. Happy Birthday Mr. President!
So basically Zardari is only interested in power. He doesn't care about Pakistani; all he cares about keeping his power intact. That is why he got himself pardoned through NRO and that why he wants to finish his term. I wishes he could have used his cunningness to improve state of affair of Pakistan, but perhaps I am expecting too much from person who got convicted by Swiss Court.
It is time we have leader who is pro pakistan not pro wesr
If criteria of 'fabulousness' is merely Chalaki; then Mr. Zardari, beyond any doubt, is a great politician (not leader); but if it is up to solving problems of people, earning respect locally and internationally and having a clear, if not an impeccable reputation, then Zardari is a bigest loser of all the times. Coming of Multan elections; i would simply ask why PPP always wins in feudalistic constituencies? Why there is a complete wipe out of this party in literate parts of the country (Karachi, Hyderabad, Upper Punjab, Peshawar, Abbotabad are a few examples)
His greatest achievement is that he has shown that majority of Pakistan is Non-Punjabi and anti-establishment. He is in fact the true leader of Non-Punjabi Pakistan and that's why establishment ( dominated by Punjab) is after him and hence after seeing PML (N) fail promoting TI of IK.
yar aisey zaheen dimagh zardari ko Allah kay waastey India leyjao. Hum uskay baghair guzara kar liengay
What about leading the country to prosperity? The writer listed out the things he did to save his own seat. What has he done to save the country? Extremely mischievous article from an ever mischievous author.
Well my dear indian writer, you have touched the spot which hurts most.
just think for once, all his trickery is of no use to the common man, he is just playing a survival game. God forbid if Pakistan ever again have to face a leader like him. If you like him so much I pray your country shall have many more :)
Very insightful article-appreciation for the author. No doubt Zaradari has the patience and determination to accomplish what he has i.e., to ensure the continuity of the democratic system. The author forgot to mention one more accomplishment of Zardari---that is the 18th amendment and provincial autonomy. This man deserves respect although media and some quarters are out to unjustly demonize him.
@author: in last few articles, you have been severely reprimanded by the indians for bashing modi...
in this, get ready for pti-lovers.....it's their turn now to prove their loyalty to imran khan, by blandly stating, merely sticking to the chair doesn't do any good to the nation, like it is the case in india with MMS...
zardari may have some good qualities, but he is also heading pakistan, when it is passing through the most difficult phase, and if all he can do to gloat about 5 year term, then better leave the nation....to military, to wolves or to anyone he deems fit....the nation can take care of itself..
Indeed!! Zardari is not just a politician, but a statesmen!! May he live long!!
@hamza khan: Sir we are already on the brink and I can say with an assurance that President Zardari has a very little do with it. Your own choice General Musharraf if you could recall too wanted to improve and normalise relations with India.
Well written. Zardaris qualities have been well explained but some advice: the ppp has many capable managers that need to be brought into the top position so they can deliver a better performing govt. mr Zardari needs to use his wisdom in this domain too. The PPP is the 5th institution in Pakistan and it must survive for democracy to survive
I mean come on for crying out loud. Has the writer and the Tribune lost all senses? Every single industry in Pakistan is declining. There are no jobs. Need I even mention the daily rising inflation. The power crisis? I am appalled that there are people so disillusioned. I think you really need to get out of under whichever rock you have been hiding under, for the last 4 years and have a look around. Cheers.
well done writer, he is a great politician and he can run the country in some diffrent positive manners but he is powerless. i think one day he will allow PM to write a letter to Swiss bank or will ask NAB to deal .
Perhaps the the writer might want to immigrate to Pakistan and enjioy the benefits of Zardari and co? PPP/Zardari/ex PM are brilliant if you don't have to put with them! Remmember what Gillani said about people wanting to leave Pakistan?
well written? The seat Gillani won is home ground of Gillanis since ages, SMQ isn't a factor there. Zardari's politics is praised by his rivals too, unfortunately its totally devastating for Pakistan
WOW, THANK YOU!
I LOVE MY PRESIDENT NO DOUBTS
JEAY ZARDARI
@Mahmood: I agree with you in this regard. If one looks at the top richest and most successful people in the world, most of them have been college dropouts. This includes Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Mike Dell, Steve Jobs and many others. My personal opinion is they had realized that they were wasting their time sitting and listening to the old lectures. Their time and ideas were worth a lot more and they could not afford to wait and waste away. Here is a list of dropouts in fact many rich and famous have been high school dropouts: Regards, Mirza http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listofcollegedropoutbillionaires
Happy Birthday Mr.President! Pres. Zardari may not be the most popular and some may even call him the most unpopular President, but with a single annum of doubt all agree that he is the master chess player, A True Politician. Many people will now create hue and cry about the performance of the govt. however many people forget that the president is no longer in charge of the performance of the country but it is the Prime Minister. President Zardari has fulfilled his role to the best of his capabilities amidst the pandemonium and schemes of his enemies. It would have been nice to say so that the PPP govt. could have removed many of the people's griefs mad problems so that enemies of Pres. Zardari could have been silenced forever. Unfortunately, the PM was unable to deliver, it must be agreed that many hall mark achievements were made but if all the cabinet members had worked from the bottom of there hearts and with honesty. However, we pray that the Bhutto children understand the actual situation and plight of the people, we wish to see independent minded youths not being used as puppets but being disciplined, statesman and woman. However when one reads the Bhutto tweets, one is caused to think that they will fall into the hands of sycophants which are ready to feed on there blood and that they are not aware of the actual plight of the people but just repeating the same old administrative achievements. The worker of PPP is tired and feels used by its party. People loyal to MSBB and SZAB are given second hand treatment in front of cronies and sycophants and people like Faisal Raza Abidi, Zulifkar Mirza are all being given the silent treatment by Pres. Zardari.
Excellent article..Loadshedding is the only issue which can bring Zardari down. Nawaz Sharif could be other danger but Imran is successfully working on that. If Zardari solves loadshedding problem to some extent before elections or elections are held in winter (Thanks to our short memory, we will forget, what happened to us in summer), then Zardari's another term is guaranteed.
A fine piece for the thoughtless! It is my honest view that the future historian will refer to president Zardari's patience and persistence in proverbial terms. History is already witness that no man before--politician or otherwise--has been so mercilessly rubbed in the mud like Mr Zardari, by all and sundry, at least in our country. And it has been happening to him since his pre-jail days. Yet, true to his style, wont, and demeanor, we see the man returning the 'favor' only by smiling back. Strange that we're not able to trace just ONE virtue in Mr Zardari, much less acknowledge it.
Only a neutral observer can write such a pragmatic Op Ed about the elected president of Pakistan. It is a shame that it takes a next door neighbor to see what we refuse to see and realize in our own home! The best thing about this Op Ed is there is no hatred or dishonesty only the facts are stated, a la Indian SC justice's Op Ed.
What good has uniting the party and democracy done when the country is going down the drain and the people are in such dire straits.
He is good at politics, deal making, sustaining alliances; but he is terrible at governance. I wish he had used his guile to right size the government owned enterprises, reduce subsidies or overcome trade unions etc
Well writen.But they Failed the people of Pakistan.
One must admire the heart touching analysis of writer. Extremely well written article. Zardari in fact is same what has been depicted in this article. Given free hand he could have performed much better relative to current state of affairs. His stature can further be elevated if he shows courage to get repealed anti human rights laws and ordinances from Pakistan.
of course an indian will want to see asif zardari. what better way to see pakistan go down the drain. i'll take pervez musharraf any day of the week.
Looks like he is going to be the last leader of the doomed republic of pakistan.
People who are surely going to hurl abuses to the writer, if you think with a clear head all he has said is true. He may be every evil in the book but he is pretty much head and heels above the rest when it comes to politics and you have to give him credit for that. Secondly you cannot question his bravery, he is not hiding in London nor did he run to Saudi when given the first olive branch by the dictator. PPP is here to stay whether you like it or not.
The English poet Thomas Grey very sensibly said ' when ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise.'
If we sincerely focus on the very root cause of our present day problems, it lies in the anti-India mindset of our establishment. Mr. Zardari understands that the only way to economic and social progress is the normalization of our relations with India.
Hey, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs never finished school either! What do you make of that?