PAKISTAN LEADER RIDES ON THE LATE BHUTTO FAME AS HE TAKES OVER AS PRESIDENT

By SAM MAKINDA
September 14 2008
Daily Nation and On Line sources

Zardari was elected primarily because he is the widower of Ms Benazir, who was assassinated in December 2007
The fact that Mr Zardari received more than two thirds of votes cast suggests he has a greater level of appeal
Hewill need to address relationship between his PPP and the Muslim League if he is to transform the Pakistani society

The recent election of Mr Asif Ali Zardari as President of Pakistan with 68 per cent of the votes cast, has returned to supreme power the family of former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Mr Zardari was elected primarily because he is the widower of Ms Benazir, who was assassinated in December last year, and the son-in-law of Mr Ali Bhutto, who was executed in April 1979 by the government of General Mohammed Zia-ul-Hag.

Mr Zardari co-chairs with his son the Pakistani Peoples Party (PPP), currently the most influential political party in the country. The PPP was created by Mr Ali Bhutto in the 1960s and has always been led by a member of his family.

Looking beyond the family, one may ask the question: What will Mr Zardari’s presidency mean for Pakistan’s domestic politics, regional stability and international peace and security?

At the domestic level, Pakistan, which appears to be divided along sectarian, ethnic and civil/military lines, is one of the most difficult countries to rule. Mr Zardari’s predecessor, General Pervez Musharraf, who took power through a military coup in October 1999 and was forced to resign only last month, had been committed to keeping Pakistan peaceful and united, but he was unable to do so.

The assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto last year is testimony to the fact that Pakistani militants cannot be reined in easily. Indeed, Mr Musharraf himself escaped several assassination attempts during his nine years in power, and Mr Zardari is likely to be targeted by the same militants.

However, the fact that Mr Zardari received more than two thirds of the votes cast suggests that currently he has a greater level of appeal than any of his predecessors. Whether he utilises this popular mandate to manage Pakistan’s politics and economy successfully, is yet to be seen.

There are numerous political issues, which Zardari has to tackle satisfactorily, before he can establish a semblance of tranquility in Pakistan, but here I focus on only three of them.

The first is the reinstatement of the Supreme Court judges who were dismissed by Musharraf about a year ago.
Mr Zardari has already reinstated some of the judges in High Courts and is keen to reinstate others.

It is not clear whether Zardari would be keen to re-instate the former Chief Justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, whose removal by Musharraf last year set off a series of protests. Zardari, who now has immunity against prosecution as the President, was tried for corruption before the Supreme Court judges who included Chaudhry.

The second issue that Zardari will need to address immediately if he is to transform the Pakistani society relates to the relationship between his PPP and the Muslim League, led by another former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The two parties fell apart a few weeks ago over the re-instatement of the Supreme Court judges, but continued antagonism between them could hinder Zardari from establishing effective control over the province of Punjab.

For example, the PPP is dominant in Sind Province, but it has little influence in the Northwestern Frontier Province and in Punjab, which is the most populous province.

On the other hand, the Muslim League is the dominant party in Punjab. It is imperative for Zardari to get the Punjab government on his side.

The third domestic political issue, which Zardari is expected to address, concerns the power of the presidency. Some of Zardari’s predecessors have exercised considerable power under Article 58-2(b) of the constitution, including the power to dismiss the National Assembly and any of the provincial assemblies.

During Nawaz Sharif’s second tenure as Prime Minister in 1997, the president’s power to dismiss governments was removed. However, following Pervez Musharraf’s overthrow of Nawaz Sharif, these powers were re-instated.

Since then, some legislators have agitated for the curtailment of these powers. Those interested in the reform of Pakistan’s democratic system are now watching to see whether Zardari is going to abolish the president’s power to dismiss the National Assembly or not.

As Pakistan is key to regional stability and security, several countries, particularly Afghanistan, China, India and the USA, are watching to see what measures Zardari is going to take to enhance regional and global security.