Asif Ali Zardari: the godfather as president, Islam and the West, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and the West

Asif Ali Zardari: the godfather as president

He may be a pliant partner for the west, but with his record of corruption, Zardari is the worst possible choice for Pakistan

By Tariq Ali

September 07 2008

Today, he is the second richest person in the country, with estates and bank accounts littered on many continents, including a mansion in Surrey worth several million. Many of Benazir's inner circle, sidelined by the new boss (Zardari did rub their noses in excrement by having his apolitical sister elected from Larkana, hitherto a pocket borough of the Bhutto family) actively hate him. Benazir's uncle, Mumtaz Bhutto (head of the clan) has sharply denounced him. Some even encourage the grotesque view that he was in some way responsible for her death. This is foolish. He is only trying to fulfill her legacy. He was certainly charged with ordering the murder of his brother-in-law, Murtaza Bhutto, when Benazir was prime minister, but the case was never tried. Characteristically, one of Zardari's first acts after his party's victory in the February polls was to appoint Shoaib Suddle, the senior police officer connected to the Murtaza Bhutto ambush and killing, as the boss of the Federal Intelligence Agency. Loyalty is always repaid in full.

http://newageislam.com/asif-ali-zardari--the-godfather-as-president/islam-and-the-west/d/708

India is not on the Pakistani radar any more,

Current affairs

India is not on the Pakistani radar any more

By Pramit Pal Chaudhuri , Hindustan Times

New York, February 11, 2008

A half-truth: His father was born in pre-1947 Lahore. “He told me there was no welcome mat for Pakistanis in the border areas,” I said. The deepest faultline in South Asia was the one between Kabul and Islamabad. The Pakistani Parsee novelist, Bapsi Sidhwa, followed this up by telling the audience, “These Afghans are ungrateful wretches. “

Later on, there was some soul searching among the Pakistanis in the audience about the future of democracy, their country and so on. At one point, someone got up and said, “Our problem is that there is too much outside interference. Starting with the Americans.” Thunderous applause.

Those were the only two times when the 150-strong audience clapped loudly during the event.

Back in Washington, after a round of chats with think tanks and US government officials, a few things seemed clear. One, Washington has no B plan now that the Benazir-Pervez shotgun marriage is no longer possible – other than to replace the deceased bride with her sleazy husband. Two, the West’s entire counterterrorism establishment has Pakistan on its mind.

http://newageislam.com/india-is-not-on-the-pakistani-radar-any-more/current-affairs/d/239