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The cloud over Zardari

A year ago, few would have imagined Asif Ali Zardari as the front-runner for Pakistan’s powerful presidency. Even Benazir Bhutto sought to shore up her political prospects by distancing herself and the Pakistan People’s Party from ‘Mr. 10 per cent,’ a nickname her husband had earned for his allegedly corrupt ways during her two terms in power. His own preoccupation until the December 2007 assassination of Benazir was to stave off court appearances i n the United Kingdom and Switzerland — as it turns out, in one instance by telling a London court that he was mentally ill — where the couple faced corruption charges. That his claim of suffering from dementia and loss of memory among other illnesses was a ploy is not really in doubt. As leader of the PPP, his outmanoeuvring of Nawaz Sharif is certificate enough of his mental fitness. He strung his chief rival along with promises to restore Iftikhar Chaudhary, the Chief Justice who was removed by Pervez Musharraf in November 2007. Then he enticed Mr. Sharif, who was threatening to leave the ruling coalition, with a plan to impeach President Musharraf. With the military ruler removing himself to avoid impeachment, Mr. Zardari declared his ambition. The PML(N) has finally broken its alliance with the PPP, but to Mr. Zardari it does not matter. As President under the existing rules of the game, he would be in a position to neutralise Mr. Sharif’s calculations of storming to power through early elections.

The PPP leader has emerged as a wily politician, but his unreliability and lack of scruples cloud his presidential bid. Mr. Zardari has also not been able to live down his shady past despite a blanket amnesty from General Musharraf. It led to the withdrawal of all cases against him and Benazir, enabling their return to Pakistan as a quid pro quo for the PPP’s support to the military ruler’s dodgy victory in the October 2007 presidential election. Mr. Zardari says the deal was nothing more than a government admission that the cases were politically motivated, as investigators were unable to find any evidence to back the charges for which he spent eight years in jail. Earlier this week, Swiss officials said they had freed Mr. Zardari’s accounts valued at $60 million after being informed by the Pakistan government that it was no longer pursuing a kickbacks and money-laundering case against him in a Swiss court. His opponents cannot be blamed for asking how and where he made all this money. This is Pakistan’s first proper presidential election. It is sad that the likely winner is such a controversial figure.

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