Pakistan People’s Party Vice-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari is widely described as an astute politician. Yes, he is. He has, for example, reached out to Punjab’s textile tycoons in order to brighten his party’s electoral prospects.
Obviously, he has offered them carrots with a view to winning over their support in a province, which is rightly described as the key to coming to power.
Announcing that his party is ready to sign a much talked-about ‘charter of economy’ on the pattern of ‘charter of democracy’, he has told the businesspeople that his party fully supports the demands of textile sector, including the availability of energy on regionally competitive rates.
He has suggested, among other things, that textile entrepreneurs should lead the ministries of textile and finance to take the country forward. In my view, Zardari is playing his cards quite well.
It is increasingly clear that current political turmoil in Punjab in particular seems have weakened the positions of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) alike.
This situation has thrown up an opportunity for him to grab it by both hands by restoring PPP’s image and popularity in the country’s largest province in terms of population with a view to ultimately securing power at federal level. By all accounts Zardari is a pretty shrewd politician. He seems to have cat among pigeons through his focus on Punjab.
Nahid Mirza
Karachi
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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