The real question is not whether the President is actually ill or faking it. Not even whether he will return to Pakistan or not. The real question, however, is how could someone as clever as Asif Zardari bring Pakistan to the point where when he goes to Dubai for a medical check-up, both domestic and international media start speculating if he has made good his escape. And the irony of ironies; as soon as the rumours of his illness and departure started appearing, the social media and SMSs went abuzz with tasteless hopes and wishes that Mr Zardari has actually taken off, and finally there will be some relief for the poor people of Pakistan. The very people who not just elected Pakistan Peoples Party, but almost carried them over their shoulders into power, are once again rooting for the end of the peoples rule. It took only four years to destroy the standing of a 44-year old political party that used to claim to be the salvation of the masses. Was it a mistake or a case of grave incompetence? Or was it all by design? As corrupt as he may be, Mr Zardari did not have to quietly allow the savage looting and plundering of Pakistans resources. He did not have to destroy the countrys institutions and corporations. He had no reason to let corruption reach epic levels. No matter how incompetent or corrupt this government may be, it could have easily prevented hundreds being killed on the streets of Karachi, unchecked. No one could have a definitive answer to this question, but the happenings of the past few months do give us some clues. When Mr Haqqani was accused of being an American citizen he quickly threatened to sue for defamation. Weeks have passed and Mr Mansoor Ijaz keeps challenging anyone to take him to the court, yet neither Mr Haqqani, nor the Government of Pakistan has bothered to even contact a lawyer, to the best of my information, even though this is not just a simple case of defamation, but potentially that of high treason. I dont know who is responsible for writing the memo, but their failure to give a mature retort, to Mr Ijazs unabashed verbal assaults, clearly proves that neither is completely innocent. Is this the end of the memo, or is the memo actually shedding light on some of the very strange happenings during the past few months? Was the attack on PNS Mehran, the murder of a journalist (Saleem Shahzad), and numerous bomb attacks on navy buses, just random acts of terrorism? Or were they actions taken in response to the Presidents alleged request for America to sort out Pakistans armed forces and intelligence agencies? Then comes the finale, at least of this chapter - Natos ruthless attack on Pakistans two army checkpoints. I doubt if this had anything to do with the requests made in the infamous memo. In fact, none of the experts Ive talked to during the past few days have been able to concretely explain, what America had to gain from this rather ridiculous attack. Some say, it was meant to provoke the Pakistan Army into a retaliation, which would give them a reason to attack Pakistan, but I dont agree with that. I also dont agree that Mr Zardari would take refuge in Dubai to avoid legal cases against him. He is the one man, who is not scared of going to jail. It only makes him stronger. Mr Ijazs reputation and history also leaves no doubt that the American establishment is backing him, and using this to create a divide between Pakistan Peoples Party and the establishment. Natos attack has only further deepened this divide. Asif Zardari may or may not return. He may actually be ill. But the fact will remain that his government has set Pakistan back by a few centuries and plunged Pakistan into an almost irreversible economic crisis. The nation is in debt. Pakistan Rupee will never again be 50, or even 60, to a US Dollar. The educated who have left the country for safety and opportunity, will probably not return for generations. We have bigger problems than just taking Mr Zardaris pulse. The writer is a well-known TV anchor. Email: fq@faisalqureshi.com Twitter: @FaisalQureshi Facebook: http://facebook.com/Qureshi.Faisal