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Could Zardari Be First Pakistan Leader to Complete Term? - India Real Time - WSJ
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, often taunted at home and abroad as an accidental leader, is showing political skills that have some people thinking his administration may become the first elected government to complete a term in Pakistan's 64-year history.
This week, Mr. Zardari used a rally to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of his wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, to make a political move that took many observers by surprise.
At the end of his speech, Mr. Zardari invited Aitzaz Ahsan, a popular lawyer and politician famous for taking on Pakistani dictators, to give the closing speech in honor of Ms. Bhutto.
What surprised people is that Mr. Ahsan, despite being a member of the ruling Pakistan People's Party, has been on the outs with Mr. Zardari and other party leaders in recent years.
Elections that followed brought the Pakistan People's Party to power. But Mr. Zardari, on becoming president, declined to reinstate Supreme Court judges that Mr. Musharraf had fired, leading to a standoff with the nation's activist lawyers, including Mr. Ahsan.
Since then, Mr. Ahsan has been in the political wilderness. His political resurrection Tuesday shows Mr. Zardari is willing to take chances to keep his own political fortunes alive, some analysts said.
"It's a very wise move on his part," said Hasan-Askari Rizvi, an independent political and security analyst based in Lahore.
To be sure, Mr. Zardari's declining popularity among Pakistanis is in part due to the PPP's failure to turn around a dismal economic picture, with slowing growth and high inflation, and Mr. Ahsan is unlikely to be able to play any role here. Neither is he likely to help reverse popular perceptions that Mr. Zardari and the PPP government are mired in corruption.
But in political terms, Mr. Ahsan could assume a major part in stabilizing the administration and helping it stave off controversies to complete its term through 2013, analysts say.
In recent weeks, Mr. Zardari has come under fire at home for allegations his government asked the U.S. for help to prevent a military coup that was feared in the wake of a covert raid by Navy SEALs in May that killed Osama bin Laden.
The Supreme Court continued hearings Wednesday in to whether to launch a formal investigation into the affair, as requested by opposition politicians. The court is widely viewed as politicized and anti-Zardari.
Asif Ali Zardari used a rally to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of his wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
The powerful army, which has ruled Pakistan directly for almost half its history, has supported the investigation, pushing PPP leaders in recent days to talk openly of a conspiracy to bring down the government. The army, last Friday, put out an unusual statement denying it was planning to take over the government.
It remains unclear exactly what role Mr. Ahsan will play in the administration, but his elevation means the PPP now has a popular "lawyers' movement" figure on board which will greatly blunt any move by the Supreme Court to unseat the government, analysts said.
The re-embrace of Mr. Ahsan by the PPP also comes amid worries that the party may lose more senior politicians to a rising opposition party led by cricket legend Imran Khan. Former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi left the PPP last month to join Mr. Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf.
Some newspapers Wednesday talked of Mr. Ahsan as a prospective prime ministerial candidate, but this seems premature.
Mehreen Zahra-Malik, a columnist for The News, an English-language daily, quoted Mr. Ahsan as denying talk of him becoming prime minister. But in her piece she quoted an "insider" who had this to say about Mr. Zardari's strategy:
"It's clear the army doesn't want to intervene directly and has thus thrown the PPP to the courts. But if Aitzaz enters the picture, the Supreme Court will have little incentive to knock out the government. In this way, Zardari would neutralize his two biggest threats: the army and the courts. It's a pitch-perfect move and almost assures that elections will be held as planned in 2013."
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, often taunted at home and abroad as an accidental leader, is showing political skills that have some people thinking his administration may become the first elected government to complete a term in Pakistan's 64-year history.
This week, Mr. Zardari used a rally to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of his wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, to make a political move that took many observers by surprise.
At the end of his speech, Mr. Zardari invited Aitzaz Ahsan, a popular lawyer and politician famous for taking on Pakistani dictators, to give the closing speech in honor of Ms. Bhutto.
What surprised people is that Mr. Ahsan, despite being a member of the ruling Pakistan People's Party, has been on the outs with Mr. Zardari and other party leaders in recent years.
Elections that followed brought the Pakistan People's Party to power. But Mr. Zardari, on becoming president, declined to reinstate Supreme Court judges that Mr. Musharraf had fired, leading to a standoff with the nation's activist lawyers, including Mr. Ahsan.
Since then, Mr. Ahsan has been in the political wilderness. His political resurrection Tuesday shows Mr. Zardari is willing to take chances to keep his own political fortunes alive, some analysts said.
"It's a very wise move on his part," said Hasan-Askari Rizvi, an independent political and security analyst based in Lahore.
To be sure, Mr. Zardari's declining popularity among Pakistanis is in part due to the PPP's failure to turn around a dismal economic picture, with slowing growth and high inflation, and Mr. Ahsan is unlikely to be able to play any role here. Neither is he likely to help reverse popular perceptions that Mr. Zardari and the PPP government are mired in corruption.
But in political terms, Mr. Ahsan could assume a major part in stabilizing the administration and helping it stave off controversies to complete its term through 2013, analysts say.
In recent weeks, Mr. Zardari has come under fire at home for allegations his government asked the U.S. for help to prevent a military coup that was feared in the wake of a covert raid by Navy SEALs in May that killed Osama bin Laden.
The Supreme Court continued hearings Wednesday in to whether to launch a formal investigation into the affair, as requested by opposition politicians. The court is widely viewed as politicized and anti-Zardari.
Asif Ali Zardari used a rally to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of his wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
The powerful army, which has ruled Pakistan directly for almost half its history, has supported the investigation, pushing PPP leaders in recent days to talk openly of a conspiracy to bring down the government. The army, last Friday, put out an unusual statement denying it was planning to take over the government.
It remains unclear exactly what role Mr. Ahsan will play in the administration, but his elevation means the PPP now has a popular "lawyers' movement" figure on board which will greatly blunt any move by the Supreme Court to unseat the government, analysts said.
The re-embrace of Mr. Ahsan by the PPP also comes amid worries that the party may lose more senior politicians to a rising opposition party led by cricket legend Imran Khan. Former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi left the PPP last month to join Mr. Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf.
Some newspapers Wednesday talked of Mr. Ahsan as a prospective prime ministerial candidate, but this seems premature.
Mehreen Zahra-Malik, a columnist for The News, an English-language daily, quoted Mr. Ahsan as denying talk of him becoming prime minister. But in her piece she quoted an "insider" who had this to say about Mr. Zardari's strategy:
"It's clear the army doesn't want to intervene directly and has thus thrown the PPP to the courts. But if Aitzaz enters the picture, the Supreme Court will have little incentive to knock out the government. In this way, Zardari would neutralize his two biggest threats: the army and the courts. It's a pitch-perfect move and almost assures that elections will be held as planned in 2013."
