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Zardari may seal comeback
02/09/2008 09:57 - (SA)
Islamabad - The widower of Pakistan's slain former premier Benazir Bhutto is expected on Saturday to seal a remarkable comeback by assuming the presidency of a country riven by Islamic militancy and economic turmoil.
Asif Ali Zardari was once so tainted by corruption allegations that he was dubbed "Mr Ten percent" and spent 11 years behind bars on charges he insists were politically motivated.
He will face a multitude of other problems if he defeats his two opponents and takes charge of a nuclear-armed state that has seen bombings and suicide attacks kill nearly 1 200 people in the past year.
Security will be raised on election day, officials told AFP, and Zardari has already moved house due to fears of attacks being made on his life, just nine months after Bhutto was killed at a campaign rally.
Pakistan's economy is backsliding with inflation rampant and a volatile political situation contributing to a 40% fall on the stock market since January, in a country already reliant on foreign aid.
The unrest that has struck the nation has been attributed to militants angry at US ally Pervez Musharraf's support for the "war on terror" in Afghanistan.
Musharraf's resignation triggered Saturday's election but his military policy is likely to continue. Islamabad is heavily dependent on the billions of dollars that have headed here since Musharraf backed the United States after the September 11 attacks in 2001.
'He will have to take all political parties along and play a unifying role'
The fundamental concerns of ordinary Pakistanis, though, are rooted in the cost of living, with high oil prices and rising food bills causing mounting anger among the nation's 160 million population.
Zardari is being challenged by retired chief justice Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui, who is backed by former premier Sharif, and Mushahid Hussain, a close aide of Musharraf.
"Zardari has two very major challenges - reviving the economy and fighting the war against terrorism," political and defence analyst Talat Masood told AFP.
"He will have to take all political parties along and play a unifying role" if he is to tackle the problems, Masood said.
Zardari is expected to win Saturday's election as he has sufficient support in the federal legislature and four provincial assemblies that pick the president in a secret ballot.
As co-chairperson of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), he already heads a fragile coalition government which, although still in office, recently lost the backing of two-time former premier Nawaz Sharif's party.
Having defeated Musharraf's political allies in February polls, Zardari hand-picked the country's prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Civilian dictatorship
If he wins on Saturday the role of president would allow him to go further and dismiss governments and appoint leaders of the ever lurking military that has ruled Pakistan for half its existence.
Although the PPP has said that a president and prime minister under the same political flag will bring stability, others disagree.
One analyst suggested that Pakistan is heading for a civilian dictatorship not much different from the military rule that Musharraf only surrendered late last year.
"Zardari is already de facto prime minister and now he is becoming president, so what is the difference between Zardari and Musharraf?" Mutahir Ahmed, professor of international relations at Karachi University, asked.
"This election is going to adversely impact the country."
Pakistan has seen a notable spike in violence in recent weeks in reaction to the military's crackdown on Taliban-inspired militancy in the northwest.
A top official said the unrest necessitated "enhanced security in and outside the parliament for the presidential election".
"We are also providing security cover to all three candidates running for president," Interior Secretary Kamal Shah told AFP.
- AFP
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