Old Rivalries and the Thirst for Revenge - By Susanne Koelbl
On Zardari: He was perceived as a man who was finished, both in his career and in his personal life. Asif Ali Zardari had spent nearly 11 years in Pakistani prisons and psychiatrists had confirmed that he was a bundle of nerves, traumatized, emotionally unstable, and that he suffered from pathological lapses of concentration. During psychiatric evaluations the patient, whose hair is always gelled and combed straight back, was unable to remember the date of birth of his wife and his children. His marriage to Benazir Bhutto, a woman who continued to be an iconic figure in Pakistani politics even during her exile in London, seemed to have broken down.
On Sharif: ...Nawaz Sharif, 58, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League, is hoping to see. Balding and with a Buddha-like smile, the industrialist from Punjab Province was allowed to return from exile last fall after spending seven years in Saudi Arabia. In 1998, while serving as prime minister, he appointed Pervez Musharraf to the position of army chief, thinking that the general wouldn't be a threat to him politically. A year later Musharraf toppled Sharif's government in a dramatic but bloodless coup. Sharif was not a good prime minister and anything but a good democrat. He formed an alliance with religious conservatives and even claimed he wanted to introduce Sharia law. Now he is a passionate defender of the secular rule of law. And this is going down well. Apparently many Pakistanis have forgotten that people danced in the streets nearly eight years ago when Sharif was forced to leave the country after having so badly mismanaged it.
On Musharraf: And what about Pervez Musharraf -- the man who made it possible for Bhutto and Sharif to return? He had to step down as president to avoid the embarrassment of impeachment proceedings. He has built a new house in Islamabad and would like to be able to remain in Pakistan as a retiree from political life. However, there are rumors that he is planning a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia or a trip to Turkey from which he would then not return. He has plenty of enemies who have a score or two to settle with him and would like to see him dragged into court. With that in mind, going into exile would definitely be the lesser of two evils for him.
On Sharif: ...Nawaz Sharif, 58, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League, is hoping to see. Balding and with a Buddha-like smile, the industrialist from Punjab Province was allowed to return from exile last fall after spending seven years in Saudi Arabia. In 1998, while serving as prime minister, he appointed Pervez Musharraf to the position of army chief, thinking that the general wouldn't be a threat to him politically. A year later Musharraf toppled Sharif's government in a dramatic but bloodless coup. Sharif was not a good prime minister and anything but a good democrat. He formed an alliance with religious conservatives and even claimed he wanted to introduce Sharia law. Now he is a passionate defender of the secular rule of law. And this is going down well. Apparently many Pakistanis have forgotten that people danced in the streets nearly eight years ago when Sharif was forced to leave the country after having so badly mismanaged it.
On Musharraf: And what about Pervez Musharraf -- the man who made it possible for Bhutto and Sharif to return? He had to step down as president to avoid the embarrassment of impeachment proceedings. He has built a new house in Islamabad and would like to be able to remain in Pakistan as a retiree from political life. However, there are rumors that he is planning a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia or a trip to Turkey from which he would then not return. He has plenty of enemies who have a score or two to settle with him and would like to see him dragged into court. With that in mind, going into exile would definitely be the lesser of two evils for him.
posted by temporal at 9/02/2008
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