Web Letters: Surprising Outcomes in Pakistan

We don't have to worry about long, drawn-out power struggles between the various political factions. The coalition of crooks will begin their infighting sooner rather than later.

On one hand we have that champion of the deposed judges: the very same man who forced Justice Sajjad Ali Shah's resignation and whose cronies, with his approval, orchestrated the storming of the Supreme Court; the man whose mentor was a general and who came to power under that general; the same man who has been convicted of terrorism and hijacking offences.

One the other hand we have another hijacker, except this is probably more serious: the hijacking of the PPP. The man who has been denying charges of corruption his entire married life; the man who began by denying and later admitting to ownership of the Surrey property; the man who is still the prime suspect in the murder of Mir Murtaza; the man who was convicted (in absentia, by a Swiss court) of money-laundering; and the same man who has not managed to get rid of the "Mr. 10 Percent" image.

They are to lead this great nation of ours! Forgive my cynicism, but I think the word "lead" is going to be substituted by "loot." All these years of exile and of course the cost of the recent elections and votes must have made quite a dent in their respective wallets. There will be bullet-train schemes, Punjab development schemes, Sindh development schemes and so on. All these will of course be concentrated in the regions of Raiwind and Nawabshah.

Mr. Zardari has graciously allowed Mr. Sharif to take on the unenviable job of Prime Minister. An excellent move, considering what the next PM has to look forward to:
- A burgeoning trade deficit.
- A growing budget deficit.
- The absolute need to raise fuel prices or face an even larger deficit.
- The harsh reality that food inflation is not going to be reversed.
- The even harsher reality that our impatient nation will demand quick fixes, which only serves to transfer all these problems to the next government.

The sad fact is that we voted them in......

Ch. KA. Nye

Karachi, Sindh, PAKISTAN