Asif makes it with dignity

Those, who think that President Asif Ali Zardari is not a true legatee of Bhuttos' legacy of pragmatism and courage, have been proved wrong once again, following the President's firm stand on the crucial Nato supply routes' reopening. But there are many more dimensions attached to it as it is not merely confined to the candid and patriotism-laden speech delivered by the President of Pakistan at the expanded meeting of Isaf-Nato held recently in Chicago.
Of course, there are many dimensions attached to this situation and they have made the Pakistani nation proud since President Zardari has taken a bold and nationalistic stance. In fact, he has refreshed the memory of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) Shaheed and that of Benazir Bhutto (BB) Shaheed who commanded respect world-wide mainly because of their extraordinary courage and wisdom that, combined with their mastery of global diplomacy, would turn the tables to Pakistan's favour even while negotiating with world's first-class dignitaries in most difficult circumstances. And even while being confronted with tremendous pressure from major powers.
Isn't President Asif Ali Zardari, as our head of the state, as well as the Government of Pakistan facing enormous pressure from more than three dozen powerful and influential member-states of Nato and ISAF for the reopening of Nato supply route without the tough precondition of Washington's apology to Islamabad on the Salala checkpost tragedy?
Is this pressure lesser in intensity than the pressure that was once mounted on military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, by the United States' top guns vis-à-vis Afghanistan's invasion? Hasn't it, for all practical purposes, assumed the form of advanced world versus Pakistan? Of course, it has. So, what does it all infer? That, taking a firm stand in these inclement circumstances, on high moral ground and in line with the parliamentarians' wishes is an uphill task. But President Zardari has, by now, established himself as a living example of meeting challenges and taking up uphill tasks with matchless composure that also enables him to deal with cumbersome situations with cool calculation and sagacity.