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Saturday, August 7, 2010

Zardari's heavy political baggage


Pakistan's President Asif Zardari is meeting with the UK's Prime Minister David Cameron as floods, diplomatic tensions and insurgency compete for his attention. Pakistan's first military ruler Field Marshal Ayub Khan once said his job was rather like trying to stop some frogs escaping from a bucket with nothing but bare hands. As soon as everything seemed to be under control, another frog suddenly leapt out at an unpredictable angle. Asif Zardari must feel a bit like that. He used to joke that he only lived in two places in Pakistan - the prime minister's house or a prison cell. That was when his wife Benazir Bhutto was alive. Now he has the best address of all - the Presidential Palace - and he got there on the back of a wave of anguish that swept the country after her assassination. It was a breathtaking achievement. Benazir Bhutto's supporters used to say that if she had become a bit corrupt it was because Asif Zardari had misled her. But then he was the one in power demanding the support and loyalty of her adherents. Despite a few high-level defections he has, for the most part, kept the Pakistan People's Party intact. He sees his next task as transferring dynastic power to the next generation. Straight after Benazir Bhutto's murder, Asif Zardari changed his son's name from Bilawal Zardari to Bilawal Zardari Bhutto. The Bhutto name still has the power to mobilise tens of millions of Pakistani votes. But for all that, the sympathy vote has dissipated and that is just one of his problems. Afraid for his security, Zardari rarely leaves the President Palace. He is coping with countless plots to kill him, civil strife, suicide bombs, US bombs, the floods - and those remarks from David Cameron.

Pakistan floods 'hit 14million people'


Twelve million are affected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces, while a further two million are affected in Sindh. In Indian-administered Kashmir, at least 113 people died in mudslides. Meanwhile, it has emerged that a charity connected to a group with alleged al-Qaeda links has been providing flood relief. Gen Nadeem Ahmed, of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), said 12 million people had been affected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces, where 650,000 houses were destroyed. The cost of rebuilding roads there was put at some 5bn Pakistani rupees ($59m, £38m), while the bill for fixing damage to power infrastructure and dams would come to another 2.5bn rupees. "In my opinion, when assessments are complete, this will be the biggest disaster in the history of Pakistan," the general said in Islamabad. Anger is growing at the absence of President Asif Ali Zardari, who left the country to visit Britain for talks with Prime Minister David Cameron. With flood victims bitterly accusing the authorities of failing to come to their aid, the disaster has piled yet more pressure on an administration struggling to contain Taliban violence and an economic crisis. Flooding has submerged whole villages in the past week, killing at least 1,600 people, according to the UN. And the worst floods to hit the region in 80 years could get worse, as it is only midway through monsoon season. According to the federal flood commission, 1.4m acres (557,000 hectares) of crop land has been flooded across the country and more than 10,000 cows have perished.