Partly Facetious: Zardari's refusal makes sense

"So the story is a bit different on the second day."
"What story?"
"That Asif Zardari, while in hospital, refused to go to Switzerland to defend himself in the money laundering case."
"Why? Has he agreed to go?"
"No that part of the story was right. But now it has come to light that the government kept the summons or whatever from him and gave it to him only two days before he was to appear in court."
"Can the government do that? I mean I thought the summons would have gone directly...ah yes! How stupid! He is in jail and all his correspondence would have been opened by the government first."
"Why did they take so long to decide to let him go?"
"Well there are many tiers of government now? You know as part of Musharraf's decentralisation. First the jail authorities would have argued whether they should pass the summons onto the higher authorities in the police department or to ignore it. Probably a week or so passed in that. Then the higher authorities probably thought they should consider sending it to their minister - the law minister who may then have passed it on to someone else - if I remember correctly the Chief Minister, a Musharraf man, is not that popular and then you know in a rather round about route it got to Jamali. And Jamali couldn't do anything but take it to Musharraf - and Musharraf has been rather busy lately, what with all these cases challenging his right to have two offices and all..."
"That reminds me. Is he seriously considering taking over a united PML?"
"United as in the Lotas - yes that is what I read. I think that would be political suicide. I mean the fate of all PML leaders has not been exemplary - and one wonders if Musharraf's strong suit is PML leaders' post independence performance."
"You do think he will keep the uniform, don't you?"
"Yes actually I do."
"But coming back to Asif Zardari - he is now refusing to go. Makes sense! Besides he has refused to be handcuffed and taken to Switzerland in custody - I mean the humiliation of that!"
"So he won't be humiliated by having a money laundering charge stick to him but would be with the handcuffs."
"Well, that is how our politicians think! I feel sorry though for the man..."
"How can you feel sorry for him...? True, he is being politically victimised because I don't think a single case against him has been proved but..."
"So our judiciary is independent. I mean the allegations or shall we say the innuendoes made by the US State Department after the Hashmi verdict implied something else."
"Don't think Musharraf cares too much about what happens to Zardari other than he remain in judicial custody. So he can control the wife a bit. Hashmi was actually threatening the continuity of his rule or so he perceived the problem at the time."
"Wonder if that is an accurate assumption."
"It wasn't. But then many a politician has committed suicide because of faulty perceptions - I mean look at Mian Sahib's case."
"Ah yes."