The Maulana will prove a tougher nut to crack than the relatively straightforward Sharif; dealing with him, shrewd Zardari may well be on the way of getting the taste of his own medicine: doublespeak, that is. The Maulana may extend a guarded support to Zardari after extracting concessions to halt the military action against the Taliban, even if temporarily. This will allow the militants the much needed breathing space and the time to regroup later, while the Maulana, enjoying a near monopoly over the sale of diesel in the Frontier and Balochistan since the allotment of quotas to him by the last Benazir government in the ’90s, sets his eyes on more lucrative deals after Zardari becomes president.      

Pakistan’s presidency comes with practically all powers concentrated in the hands of the head of the state, thanks to Musharraf’s tinkering with the constitution. However, the lesson that even the general could not survive waves of public discontent, however, will be lost on the man set to step into the presidency. To say that Zardari’s People’s Party and Sharif’s Muslim League (together with other coalition parties) alone brought Musharraf to his heels is not the whole truth; the movement waged by civil society for the restoration of the judges sent packing by Musharraf last November was also a significant factor in the dictator’s ouster, because it resonated with large and influential sections of the public. The country had not seen the kind of political activism civil society’s movement for the rule of law generated since Benazir Bhutto’s first homecoming to challenge Zia in 1986.

... contd.