All is not bad with Zardari

Asif Ali Zardari: All is not that bad with me!

Every politician in the third world shares a few traits. He is largely known to be corrupt, nepotistic and incapable of holding his office. President Asif Ali Zardari shares more than this. He has faced victimization of the worst order. He was kept behind the bars by judges and laws motivated by his opponents, the Sharifs.
There is a severe media campaign going on against him. A section of the media is bent upon portraying him as a political villain. President Zardari on the other hand is least concerned about his image in the media. He rarely bothers to help recall people about the sacrifices he has rendered. The only sacrifice a third-world politician renders is by going to jail for his principles. Zardari remained in jail for more than ten years. He was released when subsequent governments during this time period failed to prosecute him on any one of the many charges framed against him. This chapter of Zardari’s life seems to be forgotten from the media memory.
The Sharifs, Zardari’s chief opponents, are behind this media campaign which starts with the digging of some old corruption scam and ends with mobile texts calling Zardari a dog. What further annoys Zardari’s opponents is his no-response to this vicious campaign.
The Sharif’s bitterness against Zardari also stems from Zardari’s political maneuvering in which he has outdone the Sharifs many times. Jail is the best teacher and lessons learnt from there are never forgotten. The Sharifs are no match to Zardari’s political shrewdness despite having employed a large number of people to assist them in running the affairs of their party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Zardari’s critiques and the fans of the Sharifs have never realised that what made Zardari opt for jail and what lured the Sharifs in accepting a deal whereby they lived a luxurious life in Saudi Arabia.
Zardari and the Sharif were well aware of the comforts and amenities of rich life style before landing in hot waters. They both commanded mass political support. What urged the Sharifs to leave the country under a deal, compelled Zardari to remain behind the bars and suffer worst political victimisation.
Zardari and his party did another daring thing which the Sharifs cannot even dream of. He owned the war on terror and paid a heavy price. He lost his wife, a governor and a minister to this war. He made a coalition partnership with the ANP who has a strong stance against terrorism in Pakistan, something the PML-N would never do. The Sharifs on the other hand never made any public statement to own this war or condemn the use of the religion by terrorists.
There is another accusation against the PPP government that it has failed to deliver. Any coalition government in a third world country, facing the bloodiest wave of terrorism, financial crisis, a growing price tag of war against terrorism, would have done no better.
The only thing not well with Zardari is his attitude towards his public image. How can he be worst than all Pakistani politicians when he shares all their traits and spent a decade in jail over charges that were never proved against him.