Mamnoon Hussain’s arrival as Pakistan’s new president last week was surrounded in Islamabad by the usual pomp and fervour that marks the entry of a new head of state to the palatial top political residence along the city’s Constitution Avenue. Notwithstanding the many crises surrounding Pakistan for the foreseeable future, which threaten to continue to split the country, pro-democracy activists have hailed the change at the presidency as a historic event that marks a new step towards the consolidation of civilian rule.
Asif Ali Zardari, Hussain’s predecessor, became Pakistan’s first democratically elected head of state to complete his five-year term without interruption, before stepping down peacefully in an orderly transition. In a country with a history of military interventions and the many memorable palace intrigues, a smooth political transition is no mean achievement, though this will hardly be a reason for celebration in any other well-established democracy.
Hussain, a textile businessman from the southern port city of Karachi, found favour with and won the backing of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), for his election as Pakistan’s new President. This came about in spite of Hussain’s apparently weak political credentials. Just once before, he had served briefly as the provincial governor of the southern Sindh province. Many of Hussain’s critics have questioned his credentials on the grounds that his elevation to the top slot came about principally because of just one factor – his blind loyalty to Sharif.
In Hussain’s defence, his supporters have called for not just celebrating the democratic manner in which he has taken charge of his new office, but also his middle class background. Unlike many of Pakistan’s wealthy top political elite, Hussain’s fortunes were largely made on his own. Upon migrating from India to Pakistan after the country’s creation in 1947, Hussain’s family is known to have started a modest sized business which subsequently grew to become a larger enterprise.
While these are factors worth noticing, there is a consistent danger in this debate. Beyond just the matter of Hussain’s persona, the future of Pakistan’s presidency as an institution must be central to the debate at hand. Not long ago, this august office was widely known to be associated with conspiracies for prematurely changing popularly elected politicians, notably the prime minister.
The evolution of Pakistan’s democracy has brought the country to a point where the presidency has been significantly defanged and reduced to a largely ceremonial office, without its earlier authority of dissolving the parliament. But this change must be seen with a degree of scepticism. Popularly elected politicians in Pakistan’s history are known to have vigorously flouted the rule of law, when left without adequate safeguards tightly kept in place.
Events of the past five years under Zardari’s rule adequately demonstrated the danger to Pakistan’s vital national interests as the country became surrounded by a largely unhindered ruling order. Zardari himself remained haunted by questions over allegations of corruption linked to two Swiss companies, dating back to contracts in the 1990s when his late wife, Benazir Bhutto, served as Pakistan’s prime minister. His tenure saw Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) consistently defend him on the grounds that his position as president made him immune from prosecution.
Ironically, it was Zardari, during his rule, who oversaw a systematic reduction of the president’s authority – a choice that went on to benefit the PPP-led regime. While the former president has stepped down, the legacy triggered by his choice lives on.
Going forward, Mamnoon Hussain’s tenure as Pakistan’s head of state already appears to have become inconsequential in setting the pace for the country’s future, given his largely ceremonial position. Yet, the stakes ahead are deeply consequential for the future of the South Asian country at a time when Pakistan remains surrounded by the toughest security and economic challenges ever witnessed. If, as feared by many, Pakistan’s ruling structure under Sharif chooses to ignore the need for a significantly deeper commitment to the rule of law as well as wide ranging reforms, the defanged presidency may increasingly haunt Pakistan’s emerging democracy and demolish hopes for a more promising future under its much celebrated civilian rule.

The writer is a political and economic analyst. This article has been reprinted from the Gulf News.