Profile: Will the real Mr Zardari please stand up?

KARACHI: Opinion on Asif Ali Zardari usually fluctuates between two poles: either he is the country’s most misunderstood and unfairly maligned politician or the most sly political player we have seen. Whatever side one chooses, though, it is no exaggeration that even his harshest critics will call the new man in the Presidency one of the shrewdest political minds the country has seen -- adept at managing the most difficult of adversaries and brokering the toughest of political deals, sealed with an almost iconic smile.

As Asif Ali Zardari takes over as Pakistan’s 14th president, he enters the presidency on a surer footing -- having already completed arguably one of the more successful civilian presidency stints from 2008 till 2013. Pakistan’s first civilian president to be elected a second time, Zardari’s political journey is a fascinating mix of political struggle, resistance, pragmatism, and conciliatory deal-making.

Born in 1955 to a Baloch family from Nawabshah, not much in Zardari’s younger days gives any hint of a political future. His father Hakim Ali Zardari was a well-known landed businessman. Educated in Karachi and London, younger Zardari was more interested in polo than politics and it was only his surprising marriage to Benazir Bhutto in 1987 that would lay the foundation for what has become one of the more interesting political chapters in the country’s history.

As Benazir Bhutto’s husband, Zardari did not hog the limelight but was at the same time never too far away from the politics of the country. Interestingly, Asif Ali Zardari’s initial foray into politics was not as successful as his subsequent political career. His first election attempt was in 1983 for a district council seat in his family’s constituency of Nawabshah; he did not manage to win that election.

During both of Benazir Bhutto’s tenures, Zardari served as minister. But things quickly turned difficult with corruption charges starting in 1990. Asif Ali Zardari was first imprisoned in 1990, on kidnapping and extortion charges. The corruption label has since continued to haunt him, popularised by the term ‘Mr Ten Percent’, which was used liberally by the PPP’s political rivals till just a few years back.

Zardari’s supporters have argued that for someone this castigated, and having served this much time in prison, nothing has been proven in a court of law against him. For some, he has been victim and scapegoat of a carefully constructed campaign to discredit Benazir Bhutto and her party.

Zardari’s more unassuming political career came to a devastating crossroads with the assassination of his wife in 2007. With Benazir’s tragic death, the PPP was once again not just without a leader but without a ‘Bhutto’ at the helm. This was the start of the Asif Ali Zardari era of the party -- the first challenge of which was to ensure that Pakistan stayed stable in the face of a loss of such a magnitude.

It could be said that Zardari’s brand of Pakistan Khappay politics -- reconciliation, compromise, patience, across-the-aisle negotiation -- may just have managed to not only steer a grieving party towards elections but also keep it intact for the eventual successor – Bilawal Bhutto Zardari – to take over.

Zardari’s PPP also marked a stronger shift to pragmatic politics. His first stint in power proved to be historic, Zardari becoming the country’s first president to complete his constitutional term and handing over power in a democratic manner. During his first tenure from 2008 till 2013, Pakistan saw greater effort at constitutionalism. The tenure’s main claim to fame was the 18th Amendment which saw then-president Zardari surrendering the president’s power to dissolve parliament. The PPP also worked to bring Balochistan back into the national mainstream, increasing the province’s share in the NFC Award and putting forward the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan package. Not just that, as president in 2010, Zardari also signed into law the Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act.

The 2008-2013 term was not without its challenges though -- from the OBL raid to intense electricity loadshedding to increasing militancy to a damaged economy to the usual interventions from beyond the elected stakeholders.

Election 2013 saw the PML-N take power in the centre but the PPP retained its Sindh power seat. Then came the 2018 elections. During Imran Khan’s tenure, Zardari’s PPP and Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N attempted closer ties and the PPP continued to work with other opposition parties to oust Imran from power using constitutional means.

As far as relations with the establishment go, Zardari has neither sought to be a populist nor shied away from calling out interventions outside of the institutional domain. For the most part, though, in recent months he has proceeded with caution and restraint, arguing for a greater focus on the economy of the country than on partisan politics. This then is the legacy with which Asif Ali Zardari takes oath today