September 09, 2008	Tuesday	Ramazan 8, 1429

LONDON, Sept 8: On the eve of his inauguration, Pakistan’s president-elect Asif Ali Zardari was welcomed by the British media with a lot of trepidation and hosts of questions.

The Guardian in its Monday edition has two analytical pieces on Mr Zardari’s dramatic rise to the top job and the challenges he faces as the most powerful civilian president ever to enter the august office in Pakistan.

The first one titled ‘Dictatorship’ cites warnings from opposition that the country is in danger of a “civilian dictatorship” after the military rule of General Pervez Musharraf and the second one, A doomed presidency; predicts that with the army poised for a coup and the Taliban winning hearts, Mr Zardari doesn’t stand a chance.

“As president and leader of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, he will control government and parliament.

As party boss, he chose the prime minister and can similarly dismiss him. The PPP controls three of the four provincial governments,” points out Saeed Shah, the author of the first article.

The article quoted Nisar Memon, a senator from the pro-Musharraf opposition party, as saying: “They have been consolidating power, not addressing the real issues of the people. My fear is we are moving from military rule to a civilian dictatorship.”

In the second article, Peter Preston says that in Pakistan the politicians and the army have been struggling perennially for power and “democracy in this pivotal country is a frail blossom. And Zardari is as frail as they come.”