Don't Remove Zardari, Vote Him Out

I never thought that a day would come when I will write some words of support for person called Asif Ali Zardari. Those who know me well are well aware of the fact that I am a worst critic of Pakistan People’s party and despise Mr. Zardari more than anyone else in the Party. In spite of  all this I am compelled to say that Zardari should remain the President of Pakistan and should complete his whole term. I am saying this because I don’t want to see the democratic process in Pakistan to be derailed.

Zardari is no good a President. He has committed horrible mistakes. From the issue of restoration of Judiciary to the recent subject of NRO , everything he has done  is nothing but a series of blunders. He could have gained the credit of restoration of judges if he would have done that in a timely manner. He could have avoid the idiocy of imposing Governor Rule in Punjab. He could also have retained his remaining presidential legitimacy by burning the issue of NRO before it became the hot topic for the press and the opposition. He didn’t do any of it. In addition to that he made a team of advisors that is as incompetent as Zardari himself; therefore, everybody in the government committed mistakes after mistakes. The result of all this  was pretty much expected: voices from every corner to get this man removed from the presidency.

If Pakistan were a stable democracy I would be the first person to second the voices for his removal. But given the fact the democracy is nascent in Pakistan, we can’t give it a blow by removing the president without completing the whole term. Pakistan had a stint of elected governments in late eighties and the whole nineties. During all that time the system was jolted again and again by premature removals of governments for different reasons. We can’t let that happen again.

It was us who put Zardari in power by voting for his party. And it should be only us to take him out of presidency by voting him and his party out in the next election. This should be the only way to get rid of Zardari. This is the only way we can let the seed of democracy grow in this country. The consequences of five years of Zardari in power will be harsh and unforgiving, but we have to sacrifice and live with Zardari for next five years for the sake of our long term benefit.

For Zardari, I believe, it’s still not all over. He can regain, to some extent, his lost legitimacy by giving up the presidential powers provided by the infamous 58-2-B,  and letting the government work from the parliament and through the executive instead of ruling while sitting in the presidency.  Therefore, his all attention should be focused on getting through the constitutional amendment as soon as possible. It’s up to Zardari now that how he wants to be remembered in the history…

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