Zardari stands tall amidst disaster-struck Pakistan

Sharif or even Kayani could have ripped apart the coalition by now - but this is not a good time to rule Pakistan.

Samir Butt December 16, 2010
With the intellect of a potato, the Punjab leadership recently banned sugar in all government offices.

The cosmetic step left many offices with tasteless tea and coffee, and achieved absolutely nothing.

The politician-owners of many sugar mills, in the sitting government, continue to print money with high prices while harping about their nonsensical policy to save sugar in government offices.

Having said this, the Pakistan Muslim League is the most likely alternative available to the present federal government. The existing government is a symbol of inefficiency and corruption. But then, so were all the other previous governments. Our parliament consists of feudal lords, businessmen and gangsters that are not capable of performing any better. The army, with its single track thinking, is busy implementing its vested interests. But all of them have consistently sucked Pakistan of its rich resources and done nothing but served themselves. With the media on their backs, day and night, the present government is suffering exposure like no other previous government. Yet, the layer of shamelessness on their skins lets no part of honesty, modesty or sincerity absorb. They continue with the corruption scandals, one after the other, each time stronger than before.

And if not Nawaz, then what other options do we have? The army? Dislike for Zardari could not be clearer, courtesy Assange. But the world is beginning to realize that Pakistan needs to get over the military rules and tame its army. Surprisingly, even Nawaz Sharif has understood this and let’s hope he sticks to this particular thought. From the whole Wikileaks episode, the only political champion that emerged was Imran Khan. Few doubt Khan’s honesty, but most have issues with his ideology. With his party’s popularity graph, we won’t see him in power any decade soon, so let’s move on.

With all the mess going on, Zardari still stands tall. The credit does not go to Zardari or his family business the Pakistan Peoples Party. He owes his success to Nawaz Sharif and General Kayani. Both these gentlemen are as hungry for power and authority as Zardari, but at this point in time, ruling Pakistan is the most challenging job in the world. Had the economy been in a slightly better position and had there been no floods, things would have been different. Sharif would have ripped apart the coalition within seconds and easily taken over as the Prime Minister. And in no time, the ambitious General would likely have jumped into the scene to repeat history, something we are really good at.

However, this is certainly not a good time to rule Pakistan. There is a fuel shortage, flood affected population, inflation crisis, tax implementation and a terrorism problem that no one is willing to face. Hence, the General stays in the barracks while Sharif sticks to the coalition. Kayani conveniently pulled himself a three year extension, which by the way, had to be announced by his boss, Prime Minister Gilani, on national television - funny to some, ironic to others and tragic to most.

Pakistan’s problems will not be resolved in the next few years. Whoever holds the government is certainly going to face bitter criticism and be labeled as incompetent.
WRITTEN BY:
Samir Butt A former Youth Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Fulbright undergraduate scholar, freelance writer, public speaking trainer, IT consultant and marketing professional. He blogs at http://samiranwar.net.
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (16)

James | 13 years ago | Reply i love Pakistani politics.thanks for express news
Muhammad Adnan Khan Qadri | 13 years ago | Reply Oh WE, just talking about the bitter options available ie. zardari, Nawaz etc. but for CHANGE we have the scarcity of words.
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