Beginning of the End for Zardari Presidency !

The countdown to the post-Zardari era begins

A poster and reputation in tattersTHE Supreme Court of Pakistan has made its intention clear. It wants to turf Asif Zardari from the presidency and compel him to return the wealth that he has allegedly looted and stashed away in Switzerland. In a 287-page judgment released late on January 19th the court explained why it had ruled the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) unconstitutional. The NRO, promulgated by the ousted dictator, Pervez Musharraf, in 2007, cleared Mr Zardari and his wife, the late Benazir Bhutto, of all corruption cases against them. The court’s lengthy arguments pave the way for challenges to Mr Zardari’s right to sit in parliament.

Morality, said the court, cannot be divorced from the constitution. In order to be a member of parliament, a person must be of “good character”. So anyone commonly known to be disreputable can be chucked out even if there is no conviction against him. Mr Zardari ’s reputation, fairly or not, is that of a “Mr 10%”.

The Supreme Court cited at length the successful legal battles fought by the governments of Nigeria and the Philippines with the Swiss authorities in their bids to get back the billions looted by Sani Abacha and Ferdinand Marcos. It has ordered Mr Zardari’s government to apply to the Swiss authorities to reopen the money-laundering case against Mr Zardari and Ms Bhutto.

Political pundits foresee the end of Mr Zardari’s presidency. He has thundered about a conspiracy against his “people’s government”, alluding to a nexus between the army, the judiciary and a section of the press. The army resents him as too soft towards both America and India. His efforts to bring the generals under civilian control have earned their hostility. The judges are on the warpath. And the opposition is fanning the conflict, hoping for a mid-term election and the rout of Mr Zardari’s party.

The court battles ahead are going to be nasty. Sooner rather than later, the army is likely to step in try to break the deadlock between the judiciary and the executive. Pakistan’s enduring tragedy, however, is that its record is no better than that of the civilians.

Efforts to Form New Coalition after Pakistan Elections

Efforts on to form PPPP, PML-Q, MQM, ANP coalition

* Numbers game- Coalition means :
PPPP (87)+ PML-Q (38)+MQM(19)+ANP(10) +PPP-S (1) + 27 Independents= 182

* Shujaat, Elahi, Ebad meet President Musharraf
* Zardari meets US ambassador
* Makhdoom meets Shujaat

ISLAMABAD: Power brokers have stepped up their efforts to prepare a blueprint for a plausible combination of coalition partners to form governments at the federal and provincial levels. Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and PML-Q Punjab President Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi arrived here on Wednesday and met President Pervez Musharraf to discuss the post-election scenario. Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad also came to Islamabad and met with President Musharraf. “The president discussed the political situation with the PML-Q and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leaders,” a source told Daily Times without disclosing any details.

After these meetings at the President’s Camp Office in Rawalpindi, a close friend of Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim also met Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, a source said, adding that it was part of the efforts to form a coalition government. Efforts were on to remove the differences between the PPPP and the PML-Q, they said. “The first priority of the power-that-be is to work on a coalition involving the PPPP, PML-Q, MQM and the Awami National Party,” the sources said. Sources said there was little possibility of the PPPP joining hands with the PML-N because of the latter’s clear position on the issue of sacked judges and resignation of President Musharraf. A PPPP source said they might arrive upon a compromise. PML-N Senator Ishaq Dar told Daily Times his party was more interested in fulfilling its promises to its voters rather than forming a coalition government.

The PML-Q president was not forthcoming at this moment, sources said. “Chaudhry Shujaat is following a wait and see policy,” the sources said. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has said his party would prefer to sit on the opposition benches, but a final decision would be taken at a meeting of the party’s ticket holders on February 23 in Islamabad.

Zardari meets US ambassador: PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari also met US ambassador Anne Patterson and discussed with her the post-election scenario. A source said President Musharraf’s close aide Tariq Aziz was also present in the meeting. The PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar denied a meeting between Zardari and Tariq Aziz