Waiting to exhale The Pakistan report card - Fasi Zaka

Politics in Pakistan can be so surreal, who would have ever thought it would be Zardari charge-sheeting someone for embezzlement, or that foreign governments would be more concerned for Musharraf's "honour" than Musharraf himself. But let's say Musharraf resigns, or the impeachment process is successful. Then what?

Musharraf did not cause Rehman Malik to lie about the security situation in NWFP so the elections could be delayed, Musharraf did not make Shah Mehmood Qureshi fumble in the announcement of the CNG prices and neither did Musharraf push for the ISI to rebel against the government's move to place it under the Interior Ministry. As far as the price of fuel goes, place the blame on the PML-Q and Shaukat Aziz for not delivering constant price adjustments.

So why the whole impeachment process? It's not the impeachment that is disturbing, it's the reasons behind. The PPP has found a way to keep the PML-N at bay by dangling a carrot in front of them, and the substantive issue of the judges away from sight. The PML-N has given in to the same expediency, as they had done before when they approved the finance bill that expanded the number of SC judges, for a face-saving exercise by ridding the country of a very unpopular president, but one who in the present circumstances has become a titular figure.