Word: zardari
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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President Barack Obama recently sent a personal message to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari, urging him to rally his compatriots to help the U.S. fight in Afghanistan. Obama's message may, however, have been sent to the wrong address, because it will likely take all of the the embattled Zardari's political energies - and then some - to simply remain in power. Already weighed down by the burdens of his deep unpopularity, the menace of burgeoning domestic extremism and a sour economy, Zardari faces a new crisis this Saturday with the expiration of an amnesty on corruption charges against...
...confront the corruption that led to his imprisonment nearly 20 years ago. It comes four months after the recently restored Supreme Court ruled that the 2007 State of Emergency declared by former president General Pervez Musharraf in November 2007 had been unconstitutional and illegal. The amnesty that spared Zardari having to face charges was issued by Musharraf as part of a last-ditch attempt to hang onto power by cutting a deal with Zardari and his late wife, the slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who also faced corruption charges. (Zardari had previously served two stints and a total...
...failure of Zardari's efforts to secure parliamentary support for maintaining the amnesty leaves him, along with more than 8,000 other politicians, bureaucrats and diplomats, at the mercy of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. Zardari denies any wrongdoing and maintains that the cases against him are all politically motivated. The timing could not be worse for Zardari. His relationship with the powerful military establishment is under strain; a hostile media routinely advances fresh allegations of corruption; and growing anti-Americanism, fueled by conspiracy theories on Washington's intentions in the region, has left him portrayed as a stooge. His political...
...Obama's National Security Adviser General James Jones last week visited Islamabad carrying a message from his boss to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari. The New York Times reported Monday that in the letter, Obama urged Zardari to rally his nation behind a joint campaign against militants who fight the Pakistani government and those who fight U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan. Obama was also reported to have demanded more decisive action against al-Qaeda leaders hiding in Pakistan's tribal areas. In return, he reportedly offered a range of fresh incentives, "including enhanced intelligence sharing and military cooperation...
...problem, of course, is that Obama's letter may have gone to the wrong address. As a weak and unpopular President scarcely seen in public and now the object of growing vilification at home, Zardari is in no position to lead a popular movement against militancy, much less to redirect his army's focus. As ever, it is the all-powerful military establishment that will make the key decisions in Pakistan...