ASIF Ali Zardari, former president of Pakistan and still PPP supremo, wants to be heard loud and clear, but he does not appear particularly concerned about being seen leading or being seen at all.

Just where is the PPP boss while the party is facing a crisis in Sindh? Sometimes in Dubai, occasionally in London — but never in Karachi or some other part of Sindh, or even Pakistan for that matter. Why? There is no easily explicable reason, lending credence to many of the conspiracy theories ricocheting around the country.

Also read: Nawaz Sharif has reverted to revenge politics of the 90s: Zardari

Is Mr Zardari afraid that he will be arrested if he travels to and stays inside Pakistan? If so, the bravado about having faced great hardships in the past and being willing to face them again if necessary would be just that — bravado.

While Mr Zardari thunders from foreign shores against the PML-N government, it is the PPP leaders and rank and file who have remained behind in Sindh who are feeling the pressure.

At this stage, the perception that Mr Zardari has fled Pakistan — leaving associates to deal with the fallout of the corruption that is being unearthed in Sindh by the military establishment — is near impossible to rebut.

Even more dispiriting for the PPP is that its leader appears to have no strategy or plan for dealing with the crisis that the party is slowly being engulfed in. Consider that in mid-June, when the army leadership first made direct references to the problem of corruption at the very highest political levels in Sindh, Mr Zardari lashed out at the army and denounced it for stepping outside its domain.

Now, the former president has decided to praise the army and instead attack Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his government. And attack the PML-N how?

The screed against the PML-N and Prime Minister Sharif centres on allegations of corruption, mis-governance and worse by the PML-N leadership. There is no attempt made by the PPP supremo to even address the deeply problematic questions raised about corruption and misrule in Sindh.

All Mr Zardari appears to have to say in his and his inner circle’s defence is that others are tainted too. It is a sorry sight — the PPP left to twist in the wind in Sindh while its leader does little more than rage from abroad.

As ever, it is not just one side that has abdicated its responsibilities. What really can be said about the PML-N government’s handling of the operation in Sindh? The government and its spokespersons barely pretend anymore that the political government is any way in control of or even shaping the contours of the operation that began with Karachi but is now clearly suffering from mission creep.

The PML-N may have shown restraint in the face of Mr Zardari’s provocation, but the government appears powerless to do anything about the ever-lengthening shadow of the establishment.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2015

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