ISLAMABAD: If Saturday’s earthquake was really a divine warning as believed by many to rethink about the election of Asif Ali Zardari as President of Pakistan, they simply missed the opportunity. Zardari has been elected despite the earthquake warning, if it was so, and with a big bang.
Yet this is the time to pray that all fears being attached to Zardari would prove wrong. And for this, the newly-elected president would have to act and behave contrary to his known image and reputation.
While one can ignore the wagging tongues interpreting the earthquake as a divine warning, it is interesting to note that the top quake-expert in Pakistan Dr Ch Qamar Zaman, Director General Meteorological Department, also found it unusual. “We never had two independent earthquakes in two consecutive days before,” he said while referring to the two jolts, one recorded on Friday and the other on Saturday morning.
The October 8, 2005 catastrophic earthquake was followed by its aftershocks for several days but there were no independent earthquakes, he explained, pressing that what we saw on Friday and Saturday was really unusual.
The Saturday’s tremor jolted different parts of Pakistan, including Islamabad at a time when voting for the presidential election had just begun, persuading many to interpret it as a warning, for some with peculiar faiths it was a timely warning.
A retired Army general told this correspondent quite seriously that the divine message had come but ignored. A retired federal secretary sent a SMS, saying: “The second earthquake in two days. Allah Rehm Karay (May Allah have mercy on us). When humans fail to correct basic imbalances, or don’t uphold universal but elementary moral values, divine laws come into play.”
Despite his many commonalities with his military predecessor, the basic difference between the two remained that Zardari has become president with the power of the vote whereas Musharraf had grabbed power with the barrel of the gun.
Now the future of the nascent democracy in Pakistan, for which Benazir Bhutto gave the ultimate sacrifice of her life, greatly depends on the conduct and role of the newly elected president. His politicking and his dealing with the strategic institutions whether it is the Army, the ISI or the GHQ’s extremely sensitive Strategic Planning Division.
He has come as one of the most powerful civilian presidents in the country’s history. But to earn respect and acceptability, he would have to shed the authority of the presidency for the benefit of democracy and the people of this country. To strengthen parliament, he has to get the 17th Amendment undone as per his own promise, the commitment of his slain spouse, the election mandate of the PPP and in line with the Charter of Democracy.
The repeal of the 17th Amendment would clip the president of his present powers to dissolve the National Assembly and dismiss the government and to make key appointments, including that of the Army chief and other services’ heads. There are growing fears that he would not do this to maintain his firm control over the government, parliament and even the Army. But he will have to prove all such fears wrong.
Zardari also has the chance to prove his critics wrong, who see his going into the presidency as full of risks. Many say that the man, who is perhaps the most controversial political leader the country has ever produced, will have to change himself altogether to secure the future of democracy. Miracles do happen and people do change. Why can’t Asif Ali Zardari? If divine warnings do come why can’t the divine correction.
The News
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