Word: zardari
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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...
...clear whether the corruption charges could could actually push Zardari out of power. "The government of Pakistan believes that while the President of Pakistan is in office, he has immunity from all cases brought by governments before," says presidential spokesperson Farahnaz Ispahani, and legal opinion on the issue is divided. Still, she adds, "These are accusations not convictions. He's not afraid of facing the courts again if the time comes." (See pictures of Pakistan beneath the surface...
...amnesty is certainly providing ammunition for the the parliamentary opposition, which is calling for Zardari and other accused ministers to step down."He's not immune forever," says Khwaja Muhammad Asif, a prominent lawmaker from Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N). "As long as he's in this office, he cannot be served with a warrant. But there is also a moral position - he holds the highest office in the land. For the dignity of that office, he's morally bound, if morality means anything to him, to leave his office and face the charges...