Zardari’s checkmate

One must move in silence and only speak when it’s time to say ‘checkmate’ as it’s all about making the right move at the right time. Chess is a game of minds where only the wise and calm player can win.

Today in Pakistan the political moves and strategies are similar to that of chess. However in this political arena, there is  only one politician who is unanimously admired for his wisdom and calculated moves, the one who rejuvenated PPP after the party lost its leader and his wife Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. He is capable of making way in the toughest situations, he is known for his patience as he spent 11 years in prison, showing victory sign with a smile on his face despite torture and persecution by opponent party and the dictator both whom he outclassed in the field of politics.

Even in Naya Pakistan he was victimised, but he faced the cases valorously despite serious health issues. In fact he is the only politician of Pakistan who apparently is not scared of prison, which makes his opponents curious as he shows no weakness. The current government is known for its vengeance and political victimisation, it is believed that Imran Khan is even more hostile to the opposition than Zia, but despite all that Asif Zardari opted to stay in Pakistan and face the cases. However as an option he could have easily taken a flight to somewhere far and safe just like Mian Nawaz Sharif but he chose the difficult path.

One thing that differentiates Asif Zardari from Nawaz Sharif is the mature parliamentary politics of the former and the hasty agitational politics of the latter. It would have been easier for Asif Zardari to toe the line with Nawaz and go all out for a long march and resign from Parliament to mount pressure for re-elections but then there were many unseen repercussions to this agitational move.

What if Khan does not step down and rather call for by-elections in the vacant seats? Will this make any difference to political dynamics? What if the confrontational move takes democracy towards a dead end, leaving no way for return? These are important questions which must have been brewing in the mind of the former President who has seen the highs and lows of Pakistani politics. In recent time he has proved himself by tilting PDM’s policy from agitational to parliamentary politics and the results have been prominently fruitful. From Daska to Nowshera, and then in the Senate, the PDM gained magnificently. By putting Khan in an awkward spot where he had to seek a vote of confidence from his own MNAs who ditched him in the Senate elections was itself a big success of PDM and for which the credit must be given to Zardari.

Today Pakistan is facing severe economic challenges and can’t afford  further turmoil. In the current hostile atmosphere the Zardari factor can work big time for the fragile democracy and his idea of parliamentary politics can give better results as he has already proven himself in recent times. However, it’s never too late in politics, and the PML(N) must review its idea of resignation and toe the line with Zardari, and he knows the art of turning tables and can easily oust Khan without any chaos or agitation and then say ‘checkmate’

He knew that Khan is weak and has lost the control over his legislatures and allies who were willing to part ways from the PTI government which is already tumbling on the slippery floor of poor governance. Also history tells us that giving space in Parliament by resigning is never a sane option, it’s always better to remain part of the system and exploit the weakness and incompetencies of government.

The news regarding the recent PDM meeting is making waves, as the former President conditioned the PPP’s resignation from Parliament to Nawaz’s return in Pakistan so that he may join the long march together with other leaders of PDM if he genuinely wants to confront the Khan regime. This was clearly a fair demand put forward, but the response from PML(N) has put their party in a weak spot as Maryam showed weakness by being ultra-protective about her father, but at the same time expecting her allies in PDM to go heads on against Khan’s government regardless of how serious and worse the response may be from the other side. It would have been better if Nawaz would have given a green signal that he would return back and share the stage of the long march with Asif Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other PDM Leaders.

In 1985 when PPP boycotted the partyless elections, the space was filled by non-democratic entities. Therefore, the PPP will never take such extreme measures again because the party paid a hefty price back then as the boycott paved the way for electables and clan politics in Pakistan. Even in 2008 Nawaz wanted to boycott the general elections, but it was Asif Zardari who convinced him to contest and not leave the space, which later Nawaz accepted and it turned out to be beneficial for PMLN as it regained its position in Punjab after a 10-year hiatus.

These events have proved that leaving ground in parliamentary democracy has never been fruitful and must be considered as the last option. Surprisingly Fazlur Rehman who is currently insisting PDM for resignations was of the different opinion back in early 2000 when Qazi Hussain Ahmed advised him to resign from Parliament, which he refused and asserted that he would bring change through Parliament and ultimately Qazi Hussain resigned from his own seat which consequently led to the split of the MMA.

Today Pakistan is facing severe economic challenges and can’t afford  further turmoil. In the current hostile atmosphere the Zardari factor can work big time for the fragile democracy and his idea of parliamentary politics can give better results as he has already proven himself in recent times. However, it’s never too late in politics, and the PML(N) must review its idea of resignation and toe the line with Zardari, and he knows the art of turning tables and can easily oust Khan without any chaos or agitation and then say ‘checkmate’.