The former president of Pakistan and Co-chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party, Asif Ali Zardari has condemned the statement of another former President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf by stating that “No one in the world, no military expert could call Kargil a victory.” The statement by the General deserved comments from the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who lost his reign as a consequence of this controversial adventure. Asif Zardari seems to be playing a proxy to the head of the PML-N, which incidentally is the ruling party. The immediate reaction of the PPP Co-chair strengthens the doubts of the people that both are acting in unison. The reluctance of the PML-N leadership to resolve the controversy officially by creating a Kargil Commission in spite of the fact that formation of Kargil Commission was one of the key promises made during their election campaign is puzzling. The role of Asif Zardari as a second fiddle to the reigning party however is quite comprehensible.
It is a fact that he is the most maligned politician in the country with reference to his alleged corrupt deeds, but it is also a fact that he has yet to be convicted in any of those cases. He also holds the record of serving the longest imprisonment in the country on the same charges. As the cases are sub-judice it is better to leave their fate on the final decisions of the relevant courts.
The fate of PPP however, seems to be doomed even in the only province where it got a clear mandate to form its government in 2013 general elections. The obstinacy of the party to continue with the octogenarian Chief Minister for the seventh consecutive year has become very difficult for the party loyalists to defend. This model of ruling by proxy in the province may prove to be a fatal blow for a party that has genuine claims of serving the democratic causes since its inception. It is high time for the party leadership and Mr. Zardari to review their strategy and manner in which the province is being ruled. It would be better for them to focus their attention to those who have been reposing confidence and trust into PPP’s leadership for such a long time instead of picking verbal brawls with the military leadership, which is entirely focused to eliminate terrorism from the country after certainly changing its regional policy paradigm.