Pakistan first? (21082008)

Pervez Musharraf is no longer the President, the jubilation that ensued after the departure of the President proved to be short lived as the restoration of judiciary seemed to again go in "hibernation" with an announcement that minority coalition partners, ANP and JUIF needed 72 hours to study the agreements which had been entered into by two major coalition partners. This it appears was a smoke screen to divert the attention from a near collapse of the coalition.
The bone of contention apparently is the indemnity for the former President, which apparently Asif Zardari has committed to as part of the deal for the President to resign. The deal was supposedly secured by the foreign diplomats which include the Saudi Prince, British diplomat Mark Lyle Grant and the American Ambassador. Asif Zardari, it seems, fears that if the judges are restored then they might block departure of the former President and indeed may call for his arrest in their first suo moto action. This though may be a popular action for the masses but is a complete no-no for the ruling PPP and the former president's puppet masters. It appears from the newspaper reports that the resignation of the president was conditional upon his indemnity by the parliament before judges are restored. Thus, even after the resignation the President remains the centre and the source of controversy.
Thus, Asif Ali Zardari, the co-chairperson of PPP is caught between the Devil and the Deep Blue sea. The phrase "Politics is the art of the possible" may now have to be rephrased as "the politics is the art of the impossible". Stakes for the PPP co-chairperson are very high, he stands to lose not just his own government and party but also personal freedom, if the powers that be choose to take him to task for if he fails to deliver.
Shaheed Benazir Bhutto was faced with a similar situation and chose to become a martyr, as was done by her father some thirty years before. Chief Justice Iftikhar and indeed the whole superior judiciary, with some exceptions, also faced the same situation and chose to follow the path of honesty and moral high ground, paying a very heavy price in the process during which not just the judges but their whole families and the whole lawyer community has greatly suffered.
This is the test of not just the individual leadership but also once claim to patriotism. Notwithstanding the slogans raised by Musharraf of "Pakistan first", he proved that what he really believed was Musharraf first. So far Asif Ali Zardari has played his cards very shrewdly, putting himself, his party and his hold on power above the interests of Pakistan, sooner than later he will have to choose and the choice he makes will have far reaching impact for the whole nation, as well as, will define the persona of Asif Zardari for the history.