Zardari faces public unrest as goodwill runs out
Critics urge him to step down as others predict a forced ouster
Islamabad: President Asif Ali Zardari, who entered office 14 months ago on a wave of post-dictatorship goodwill and sympathy for his slain wife, Benazir Bhutto, now faces growing public anger and disillusionment over his remote presidency.
Some critics are urging him to step down, and others predict he will be forced from office within months.In interviews, opinion articles and talk shows, a diverse range of people are denouncing Zardari as a corrupt and indifferent ruler. They accuse him of living in posh isolation while his country battles extremists, energy and food shortages, and other problems.
Disgruntled military
Army officials, although considered unlikely to stage a coup, have made no secret of their unhappiness over Zardari's compliant relationship with Washington. The United States is allied with Pakistan in the war against extremists, but army leaders here remain wary of US ties with India, and they were infuriated by the controls on military spending included in a recent American aid package for Pakistan.
Poor and working class Pakistanis, meanwhile, blame the government for protracted shortages of gas, electricity and staple foods. They also feel increasingly unprotected, with more than 350 dying in suicide bombings in two months.
"There is a sense that the government is adrift and rudderless at a time the nation needs strong leadership," said Rifaat Hussain, a professor at Quaid-i-Azam University, adding that Zardari is widely seen as using his power for personal benefit. "He has alienated the best people and filled his cabinet with those who sit around waiting for orders. There is huge disillusionment."
Zardari's deepening unpopularity has put Washington in a bind because of its avowed commitment to bolstering democratic politics in Pakistan after a decade of military rule.
If he is forced from power, either on old corruption charges or through a collapse of the ruling coalition, analysts said, Washington might have to deal with new leaders who are less friendly and no better able to solve Pakistan's problems.
