In your mind's eye, imagine that Asif Zardari decides to proceed with restoring the judiciary following his election to the office of the President of Pakistan. Imagine also that he is administered the oath of office by none other than a 'restored' Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Such is the extent of wild speculation that is rife in the minds of those who hold dear the supreme interest of the country. The move, if implemented, has the unmistakable mark of Machiavellian intent stamped all over it. It is pregnant with multi-faceted benefits that would accrue to Asif Zardari and the PPP. It would deflate the opposition clamour that he has not been sincere in restoring the judiciary as had been demonstrated by his openly reneging on written agreements of March and August this year, derail the projected public protest by the members of the legal fraternity and boost his personal credentials to give him a kick start in the new role that he would be assuming for himself. At the same time, there would be numerous not-so-visible advantages that would strengthen his 'acceptability' as president. In the first instance, it would be interesting to take a note of the inherent compulsions that would have prompted Asif Zardari to go for the office of the president in preference to playing other critical roles that were there for the taking including that of being the Chief Executive of the country. First, under the provisions of the constitution, his candidature gives him complete immunity from prosecution for the tenure that he would be the president. That, inter alia, takes care of all the criminal and graft cases that could be reopened by a 'restored' judiciary. Add to that another interesting prospect: even if Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry were brought back along with other judges, he stands to retire before the expiration of the five-year term of the new president. That would give Asif Zardari the opportunity to secure his position as well as evolve a credible mechanism, if need be, to serve his post-presidential-term interests. Concurrently, it would credit him with having come good on his commitments made earlier with his coalition partner/s. If a 'restored' judiciary proceeds with setting aside the highly controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), which it is likely to do, who all would be affected? Not Asif Zardari as he would be enjoying the immunity granted him as the president of the country. Not Benazir Bhutto as she is no longer alive. While the few from the PPP who may be adversely impacted can be taken care of on account of the party being in power, it is the likes of Mr Aftab Sherpao of the PPP-S, some stalwarts of the PML-Q and a vast cross-section of leaders and workers of the MQM who would have to bear the brunt of the move. With the Machiavellian cunningness that Asif Zardari has persistently demonstrated through the last six months of the PPP rule, it would be stretching the realm of possibility if discomfort to his coalition partners and sundry supporters would be of any consequence in pursuit of furthering his hold on all echelons of power. As a matter of fact, while the prospect of keeping his own party colleagues under some form of check may not be anathema to him, it is the 'friendly' grilling of his erstwhile supporters that would give him a (false?) sense of security. The move, in all intents and purposes, would weaken the avenues that could pose any veritable threat, in the near future, to his burgeoning ascendancy, controlling all fountains of power in the country. Candidacy for the office of the president also fulfilled another inherent requirement for Asif Zardari: he did not have to declare his assets. While much has been written on the subject, his election to the office of the president would further incense speculation with regard to its motives. There are, however, two sticky issues that may thwart the restoration move. The one relates to the initiation of a possible trial of General Musharraf for having resorted to unconstitutional acts and the other concerns the disappearance of hundreds of people in the last few years who, ostensibly, have been illegally handed over to the Americans with no intimation to their families. It may be remembered that during the days of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, the case of the missing persons had attracted special attention. In fact, together with the question of the eligibility of General Musharraf to be president, this was the other critical issue that had precipitated the crisis to a point where the November 3 proclamation had to be promulgated by the former chief of army staff. Would the 'powers' that Asif Zardari says helped him in securing the resignation from General Musharraf be inclined to looking the other way while the president-elect goes through with 'restoring' the judiciary under Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry who, subsequently, could make his move on the afore-stated two fronts? While the prospect remains extremely unlikely, I would not say it is totally unpredictable in the context of Asif Zardari trying to regain the high moral ground that the PPP has gradually lost to the PML-N since the formation of the former coalition, while the latter would be left to rue its highly controversial decision of agreeing to impeach General Musharraf ahead of the restoration of the judiciary. A decision to relinquish powers vested in him as president under 58-2(b) and the annulment of the 17th amendment would be additional feathers in his cap. It would inject a much-needed dose of legitimacy to Mr Zardari's wobbly credentials to be the president of the country. The writer is a media and political consultant based in Islamabad. E-mail: raoofhasan@hotmail.com