Word: zardari
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...furor over the aid package has left President Asif Ali Zardari increasingly isolated as normally fractious opposition parties unite against its "humiliating" conditions, with even the junior partners in Zardari's ruling coalition expressing misgivings. Public opinion ranges from suspicion to hostility, and the army high command broke with its recent habit of remaining quiet on political matters to issue an ominous statement. Following a meeting of its corps commanders, the army - the country's most powerful institution, long accustomed to keeping the political class in line - expressed "serious concern" over what it said were the "national security" implications...
...told reporters gathered in front of the damaged building that the man had worn a military uniform and managed to get past guards at the WFP building by pleading with them to use the bathroom. The attack was made all the more surprising by the setting - President Asif Ali Zardari's private residence is located across the street from the WFP office - as well as the elaborate security measures that were put in place after last year's devastating bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, which killed 60 people. Security officials installed high blast walls, thick iron gates...
...attempt to bring the ISI firmly under civilian control swiftly backfired last year, while army pressure earlier this year was behind the sacking of the national security adviser and crucial to the reinstatement of the deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court. More troubling for Washington is that Zardari's approval ratings have plummeted over the past year, to just 32%, according to the most charitable poll, matching President Pervez Musharraf's levels in his final months. "The general view is that the government is not batting for the country," says Aasiya Riaz, a political analyst...
...such circumstances, the army is scarcely likely to cede what it has traditionally seen as its prerogatives, namely, directing foreign and defense policy. Already moves by Zardari to draw closer to Kabul and New Delhi have encountered resistance. For the Pakistan Army, India remains the principal enemy. That view is likely to remain unshaken as long as it perceives threats from the eastern border and Indian influence in Afghanistan...
...moment, a delicate power balance holds in Islamabad. Whatever its gripes, the army is not in a position to grab power. As a recent poll revealed, a surprising majority still favors a dysfunctional democracy over military rule. The popular opposition is restive but seems prepared to wait its turn. Zardari may just yet become the first civilian leader to complete a full term. But that, as officials in Washington likely realize, depends very much on Zardari himself...