Zardari: modest builder to powerful president

The man has one supreme quality; he abhors regionalism and parochialism. His partners and advisors belong to all linguistic groups. His track record is better than Nawaz Sharif who for reasons best known to him only keeps company of ‘Butts, Mirs, Dars and Khawajas.’ The man who secured heaviest mandate is still not prepared to get out of his Model Town shelf. There is no room for the smaller provinces in his scheme of things right now. He vetoed Makhdoom Amin Fahim and bought anger of Sindh people, he opposed the MQM and had few friends in Karachi and in Hyderabad. Out of blues, he proposed controversial Saeeduzaman as his candidate for president; the man had no proposer and seconder in Sindh and in Balochistan. This is ground reality of Nawaz politics that is bound to fail and boomerang.

Now this man Nawaz Sharif wants the people in both provinces to support his candidate for the top slot and this looks far-fetched and impossible. Another man facing AAZ is self-proclaimed journalist turned politician Mushahid Hussain. He went to every door in Sindh and returned empty handed, his current boss Shujaat Hussain helped AAZ in a big way as even PML-Q men vowed to support the PPP candidate. No doubt AAZ is modest enough to call his contest as ‘no walk over’; it is exactly for him. Asif Ali Zardari is due to start his new innings as 11th president of Pakistan. This is by no means a mean achievement. He is a modest man of extra ordinary qualities.  The man has won score of angry and wounded hearts as political head of a dynasty. His real test starts now in the wake of his victory; this is make or break time for Pakistan. His task looks greater than of his father in law charismatic Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. I remember one hot afternoon Zardari told few journalists in Karachi jail, ‘ I am no ‘nathokhera’ I am son in law of Bhutto.’ The time has come for him to prove his words. He has proved himself right and his detractors wrong so far. He has achieved the last laugh after tears for his loving slain wife Benazir Bhutto. This is life.