THE NEWS, SEPT 20, 2008 Politics of morality By S Rahman Those who think that Pakistan People's Party's or for that matter Asif Ali Zardari's resurgence to power is an act full of expediency (as if devoid of the element of morality) are mistaken. The fact is that PPP, right from the day it was founded, has stood for the masses' cause. It has suffered at the hands of establishment and all the pro-establishment forces. Even the political parties adhering to retrogressive approach had joined hands to ensure the humiliation and subjugation of PPP for years and years together. This single fact suffices to prove that with all its weaknesses, which is just, but natural, PPP and its leadership have stood aloft, their positives outweighing the negatives. The people on the whole do acknowledge this fact and it is because of this reason whenever PPP contests an election, it usually turns out to be the single largest party (barring only one instance when the establishment and its cronies in a good number of political parties waged a joint struggle to dislodge PPP government). Even the February 2008 elections have proved this fact about PPP. As for the PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari who is now the President of Pakistan following his election to Aiwan-e-Sadr with heavy parliamentary mandate, his case, too, can aptly be described as triumph of democracy. How can the vote cast in favour of Asif Ali Zardari by more than 480 parliamentarians from all over Pakistan, out of the total electoral strength of 700 plus, be termed undemocratic or dictatorial or what else, as is being opined by some critics of the PPP and Zardari? In a democracy, the majority vote matters. And when the majority vote also carries the seal of approval of all the four provinces, it becomes a case of greater democracy. Those not willing to accept this basic principle of democracy, are doing no service to democracy. They are rather reinforcing the point of view of anti-democratic lobby that criticizes democracy by labelling it as 'tyranny of the majority'. One crucial question that needs to be answered in this context is: "Was there any legal, social or moral bar on Zardari to contest presidential election?" The answer, of course, is 'no'. Is being a spouse of a former prime minister or head of a political party, a demerit? The answer again is 'no'. Then, how can one isolate Zardari from the assassinated leader of PPP Mohtarama Benazir Bhutto particularly when Zardari himself has undergone trials and tribulations including jail confinements on political count without any substantive offence being proved against him? This history of trials and tribulations rather presents Zardari as a man of moral considerations and courage. And luckily, the new president has also learnt a lot from Mohatarma and through mass interaction including many years of his life that were spent in jail. Such odds and difficulties usually tend to give birth to wisdom or good grasp of ground realities. No one thus expects of Asif Ali Zardari to be devoid of wisdom in his handling of some highly tricky issues that confront Pakistan today. One should rather evaluate PPP's politics under the overall guidance of Asif Ali Zardari, in the backdrop of ever-increasing difficulties that have come our way due to a number of factors, most of which just can't be addressed with a push-button approach. Take, for example, the issue of terrorism and expectations of the United States. The issue is getting severer and severer with every passing day, the government finding itself in quite an awkward position. Such complexities normally consume too much of time and energy. The PPP government in general and Asif Ali Zardari in particular have, however, made it a point to fight it out instead of getting demoralized. The spirits are high which means some suitable solution to this grave problem will soon be found. And that is not difficult to find out as far as Zardari's conciliatory approach is there. Zardari, as time has proved, is a man who believes in giving due respect to others especially to the political players on the national stage whatever their party manifestoes or programmes are. He is equally respectful towards the office-holders of national institutions whose opinion is given full weight while taking important decisions. By all democratic standards, this approach of Zardari can never be compared with the style and manner of any of our former presidents including Musharraf or Zia. Zardari is president of the people, having been elected through heavy parliamentary mandate. And as the facts go, legislatures of the Centre and of provinces constitute his constituency and electorate, which just can't be ignored by Asif Ali Zardari. All the moves and counter-moves, which will ever be conceived by Zardari or any of his confidants, have to remain within the parameters defined by the Parliament. The soft and sustained pressure of the Parliament and the parliamentarians will ever remain there to keep on guiding and 'transforming' the president who is by all means a grass-root president. As for those critics who are unable to see the vastness and farsightedness of Zardari's vision and commitment to politics of morality, they must confine on only one point and that is Zardari's background of politics for the people, by the people and of the people. Those legacies will not- and must not- abandon Zardari and vice versa. It will be injustice to criticize Zardari for his love for power. A man who has witnessed all the dark aspects of human life besides learning myriad intricacies and unpredictable nature of human beings (read bureaucracy, judiciary and police in particular) can never be expected to be devoid- even a bit- of vision, morality and patriotism. Above all, sacrifice forms the hallmark of Zardaris and Bhuttos. How can someone so much altruistic or sacrificing be expected to play power games for self-aggrandizement or only for the lust for power and pelf?