Breaking out of the vicious circle

Unfortunately the leaders’ background leaves much to be desired. Can Zardari, in particular, transform himself and shed the tendencies he is known for â€" as exhibited in the Nineties? Can he somehow rub off the stains sought to be washed away by NRO and re-frame his psyche? NRO is no ordinary piece of special legislation. Its nature and unholy contents have left an indelible imprint on the beneficiaries. Amazing that a man who still boasts of his integrity could be the author of such an outrageous device.

Zardari has already put in place men of his choice, many of them infamous for their past deeds. Sharif brothers claim to be clean. But there are stories about having taken advantage of their official positions and indulging in feathering their nests. These days a recently released editor of a newspaper is openly accusing them of corruption and misuse of authority. They will be well advised to take expeditious steps to clear their credentials. Why am I asking them to do so? The reason is that in the present political set-up they are expected if not destined to play a crucial role to ensure that democracy this time will not fall a prey to abuse of public trust, corruption on a large scale and unbridled mismanagement.

As said in the previous column, Nawaz Sharif is, going by the opinion polls, emerging as the most popular political leader and according to the Economist last week’s write-up, has the potential of rising to the status of “the country’s closest approximation to a national leader.� He had the sagacity of formulating the Charter of Democracy which bears the endorsement of late Benazir and a number of other political parties. He has shown remarkable resilience and patience in keeping the coalition intact to safeguard the communion of interests for the sake of a larger cause.

It is important that lessons learnt by him in adversity are put to constructive use to consolidate the gains accruing from a comparatively free election. His role will become all the more important after Musharraf fades away and the glue provided by his unwelcome presence and by his abortive “conspiracies� begins to wear off.