The fear of Big Brother

Mr Zardari was sitting half the world away from home telling the west that its investment in the Pakistan’s military and arms had resulted in the rise of extremism when his handpicked Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani charged Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani with tackling the violence in the troubled tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

Back from Athens, where he blasted the west for exploiting Pakistan and manipulating it as a tool for Cold War intrigues and finally abandoning it to the forces of extremism and fanaticism, Mr Zardari certainly needed some break before he could return home to set his sights on resolving the crisis the country is facing. Ensconced in Dubai for about a week he convened a meeting of his senior party members, including Mr Gilani who made a stopover there while returning from Malaysia, to discuss important matters.

Next stop London. Perhaps he thought it would be easier for him to get hold of Mian Nawaz Sharif and convince him about the advisability of rejoining the federal government when those who compel him to stick to his stance on the judges’ issues won’t be around to mislead him. Mr Zardari would obviously want the coalition partners to share some blame for the dismal performance of his government in the first 100 days after coming into power.