Will President Asif Zardari redeem himself?

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In one of the most remarkable comebacks in Pakistan's political history, Mr Asif Ali Zardari has been elected President of Pakistan by a comfortable majority of the electoral college comprising the two houses of parliament and the four provincial assemblies. He won the election with 481 votes out of 702, defeating his two rivals by wide margins.

Just about a year ago Mr Zardari’s position was quite tenuous. True, he was living a secure and comfortable life in New York and the Emirates after a decade in prison, but various cases were still pending against him in Pakistan and elsewhere, including the famous kickback case in Switzerland.

The great national and personal tragedy of his wife's assassination gave him an opening which he has brilliantly exploited. The cases against him in Pakistan had been withdrawn after General President Musharraf enacted the National Reconciliation Ordinance as a quid pro quo for the People’s Party pledge of support to his presidency.

One must admire Mr Zardari for his adept balance of power politics since his return to Pakistan. On the one hand he kept former president Pervez Musharraf guessing, lulling him into a false sense of security. It was a rude awakening when the People’s Party joined forces with Nawaz Sharif to impeach him, leaving him no option than to resign.

Mr Zardari also kept former prime minister Nawaz Sharif engaged as a partner in the government, agreeing with him that all the judges dismissed by Musharraf would be restored, including the Chief Justice. Mr Zardari also reportedly agreed with Mr Nawaz Sharif that a non-controversial person would be nominated for the presidency.

In contesting the presidential election, Mr Zardari has broken his pledge to Mr Nawaz Sharif, for which he expressed his deep regrets.

Mr Nawaz Sharif has shown remarkable restraint in confronting Mr Zardari; in the past he never hesitated to cross swords with those who stood in his path: two presidents (Mr Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Sardar Farooq Leghari), two army chiefs (Jahangir Karamat and Pervez Musharraf)) a chief justice (Syed Sajjad Ali Shah) and of course the late Benazir Bhutto.

Mr Nawaz Sharif had decided almost immediately after Ms Benazir Bhutto’s assassination that in the interest of national unity the government at the Centre ought to be headed by the People's Party.

Since announcing his candidature, Mr Zardari has been bombarded with criticism and obloquy. Anti-Zardari witticisms, ribald jokes and doggerel verse have been circulating on the internet and via SMS messages.

The PPP candidate has been accused of incorrigible corruption and of being America’s stooge. Doubts have been cast about his sanity. Abroad, people have written that a psychotic's finger will be on the nuclear trigger, not realizing that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is under the effective control of the armed forces, under elaborate safeguards. Besides, whatever his shortcomings may have been in the past, Mr Zardari has shown remarkable resilience. Measured by his success, who can say that he is out of touch with reality?

Constructive criticism is always welcome in a democracy as an integral part of competitive politics. But when criticism is unbridled it becomes dysfunctional, even destructive. Mudslinging by the bucketful is no recipe for solving Pakistan’s problems.

Saturday, Mr Asif Zardari has been elected President of Pakistan in accordance with the Constitution. So reviling him and calling him insane is not going to help the cause of Pakistan. The country faces extremely difficult, almost insoluble economic and law and order problems. President Zardari needs all the help he can get to stop Pakistan’s slide to lawlessness, religious extremism and economic insolvency.

At the same time, the new president should realize that the politicians, the armed forces, the media and the international community will be watching him like hawks, subjecting his actions to minute scrutiny, waiting to pounce on him if he slips or wanders off the straight and narrow. He has an unexpected opportunity to redeem himself and salvage his reputation from the depths but it is his one and only chance. He cannot afford to count on a return bout. One hopes for Pakistan’s sake and his own that President Zardari proves his many critics wrong and serves his country with great honor and integrity.