Zardari sees a tantalising glimpse of the future?

Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani’s selection for premiership by PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari, who was acting on behalf of the party’s policy-making body, the central executive committee, was perhaps nothing more than a teaser: an introduction for a product that does not mention the name of the product or say much about it but is intended to make people interested and likely to pay attention to a later launch.

The launch has turned out to be Zardari’s own candidature for the office of a powerful president. His party sounds quite confident that he will be elected to a position of trust, a job involving a lot of responsibility, although those who put their trust in him recently feel let down. He would be terrified at the thought of being defeated.

Arguably, Zardari seems to have set his targets that he reasonably hopes to achieve. Why does his every latest move sound suspiciously like the last one? It is widely believed that Zardari will be making a very shrewd move in which he, like a wrestler, quickly gets his opponent down to the floor from a standing position.

That Zardari is fully exposed to stinging criticism for not keeping his promises, it remains to be seen whether or not he will be looking forward to improving his somewhat tarnished public image once elected as president. Arguably, his election will enable him effectively emerge from the shadows of his slain wife.

Not only are his words “Pakistan khappe” that he reportedly uttered soon after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto critical to his own political survival viz-a-viz the country’s establishment, he has been able to combine different parts of a fragile coalition to create a final impression: the rich texture of the diversity, which is amply evident from the parties, groups and individuals who have promised him support from the four provinces of the country.

Although Zardari is good at talking his way out of a difficult situation, his journey can soon become tedious. That his education qualification has become a big question mark in TV talk shows in particular, he seems to be still recovering from the shock caused to him by the recent Financial Times report casting doubt over the state of his mental health. Moreover, his overseas financial stakes do not go down well with his credentials.

That he has apologised to Nawaz for not honouring his written commitment, his reneging on promises must have left a bad taste in his mouth to make him feel disgusted and humbled afterwards. Zardari must be truly sorry that things between Nawaz and him had to end like this. Despite his party’s overt threats that its legislators would be quitting the Punjab government, he still wants to leave the door open to make sure that there still remains a possibility of making a move to pre-empt the alliance or unification of PML-N and PML-Q.

But the question is whether Nawaz swore revenge on Zardari who swept him off his feet and later betrayed his trust? The answer could be simple: rage must have bubbled just below the surface of Nawaz’s mind. The present feverish activity in relation to the presidential election strongly indicates that he won’t allow Zardari even a semblance of what can be termed a walk-over or a contest that took place between PPP’s Farooq Leghari and his candidate Wasim Sajjad in the 1990s. He will be in a position to make Zardari’s life difficult if he decides to enlist PML-N’s breakaway faction, PML-Q on his side.

Once this idea being floated by the legislators from both sides of the divide turns into a reality, the two PMLs will be left with only one candidate by September 6 or even earlier. This may even make it mandatory for Nawaz to withdraw Justice Saeed-uz- Zaman Siddiqui from the contest at the eleventh hour if he is not able to successfully articulate his argument for Mushahid Husain withdrawing from the fray.

The profundity of argument that there should not be a president and prime minister from the same province notwithstanding, the country could still see a one-on-one contest between Zardari from Sindh and Mushahid from Punjab with a prime minister in office who is already from the Punjab. Among other things, the prospects of this scenario look bright because the former Chief Justice Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui’s lack of experience for a post which is no more a ceremonial job but a highly political office, particularly, ever since the adoption of the 17th Amendment, goes against him.

That the number of three contestants narrowing down to two appears to be a strong possibility, this may herald our establishment’s overt involvement in the affair. Such a situation will then represent the arrival of real actors on the stage who have successfully effected the return of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, pressurised the then army chief to doff his uniform and later forced him out of the presidency. Should such a situation materialise, the election would then be a keenly fought contest with Zardari still enjoying an edge but not a walk-over.