Two-horse race for Pakistan's hot
seat By Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI - Asif Ali Zardari, the
co-chairman of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP),
on Friday emerged as one of the cleanest
politicians in the country after he was acquitted
of all corruption cases against him as a result of
a Washington-brokered deal between his slain
spouse Benazir Bhutto and President Pervez
Musharraf, who signed a National Reconciliation
Ordinance to clear all charges against the couple.
Yet Zardari's 11 years in prison still
dominate his new role as a kingmaker on the
political scene as once-ostracized figures replace
reliable politicians of the PPP.
Zardari
heads the PPP-led coalition that controls almost
two-thirds of the 342-member National Assembly,
which was sworn in on Monday, and the party will
name its candidate for prime
minister
within days.
Washington and the Pakistani
establishment and even circles within the PPP are
still cautious about Zardari and are weighing up
their options for another choice.
The
backroom deal struck between Bhutto and Musharraf
at Washington's prompting is still intact and US
Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte is in
talks with both Musharraf and Zardari over its
implementation. Nevertheless, whether Zardari, the
accidental beneficiary of the deal following
Bhutto's assassination last December, is able to
lead the party is a serious question after being
regarded as a liability in Bhutto's political
career.
Even though he has been cleared of
all corruption charges dating to Bhutto's two
terms in office (1988-1990 and 1993-1996), there
are concerns that his record will dog him.
For instance, there are lingering
suspicions over Khalid Shehanshah, said to be a
kingpin in Karachi's underworld, who was in charge
of security for Bhutto when she was killed. In
January, Bhutto's chief security advisor, Rehman
Malik, addressed these concerns, saying,
"Speculation and blame games aimed at me and
Khalid Shehanshah are unfounded and our position
is clear."
Shehanshah, an
American-Pakistani citizen and wanted in
connection with several murder cases, became close
to Zardari in the early 1990s.
"Asif
[Zardari] was arrested for the first time in
1990," a former friend of Shehanshah told Asia
Times Online from the United States on condition
of anonymity. (In 1990, Zardari was arrested on
charges of blackmail, based on allegations that he
attached a bomb to a Pakistani businessman,
Murtaza Bukhari, and forced him to withdraw money
from his bank account. However, the charges were
dropped and he was released from prison in 1993
when his wife's PPP took power.
"Khalid
Shehanshah was in the US, where he joined hands
with some People's Student Federation activists,
Salimuddin Salu and Khalid Dalmiya [both were
later named, along with Zardari, in a case over
the murder of a judge. When the activists returned
to Karachi they were killed and the judge murder
case was shelved.] Shehanshah held a rally in
support of Asif Zardari and had his picture
published in various newspapers and when Zardari
was released, he soon became Shehanshah's most
trusted man," the former friend said.
Shehanshah, who contested the 2002
elections for Parliament from Karachi and lost,
has a long police record, starting in 1981 in
Karachi over allegations related to theft and
robbery and going to a case in 2004 over the
murder of Shehzad Ghorewala, a horse race bookie,
and another murder. These cases are registered in
different police stations and are awaiting trial.
Despite all this, Shehanshah remains
Zardari's chief security officer, which is what
troubles many in the PPP. As opposed to his
Oxford-educated wife, there are even questions
about Zardari's educational qualifications, which
could prevent him from taking a seat in
Parliament.
The 51-year-old Zardari has
been quick to sideline Bhutto's trusted aides in
the PPP, including Makhdoom Amin Fahim, the
party's vice-chairman.
After Bhutto went
into self-imposed exile in Dubai in the United
Arab Emirates in 1998, the PPP was registered with
the Election Commission as the Pakistan People's
Party Parliamentarian and Fahim was installed as
president.
A personal friend of Musharraf
and the most respected Sufi spiritual personality
(non-practicing) in the country with about a
million disciples, Fahim was furious when he was
ignored in the major decision for the PPP to ally
with Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League to form
a government.
Fahim refused to withdraw
his bid for the premiership, putting him on a
collision course with the billionaire Zardari, and
he has initiated high-profile political meetings
without the consent of Zardari.
On Monday,
Zardari had banners hung outside the Parliament
building in Islamabad, labeling Fahim a "traitor".
All the same, when Fahim entered the building he
was given a standing ovation by many of the PPP
faithful.
Zardari, watching from the
visitors' gallery, then had the banners removed
and invited Fahim for a reconciliatory dinner -
the third in a few days, but nothing has been
resolved yet.
Negroponte is talking to
Zardari, but the US Embassy in Islamabad has
opened up a channel with Fahim, as has the
Pakistani establishment. Syed Shah Mardan Shah Pir
Pagaro, a powerful kingmaker from Sindh province
and a self-proclaimed representative of General
Headquarters Rawalpindi (the military) has
announced his support for Fahim as the next prime
minister.
The battlelines are now clearly
drawn between traditional political stalwart Fahim
and the "street smart" Zardari.
Syed
Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's
Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can be reached at
saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com
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2008 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved.
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