Sending troops in search of extremists, which has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians, soldiers and suspected militants, has proved unpopular with many Pakistanis, who see Zardari as obeying the dictates of the U.S.
Even more infuriating to them are the U.S. military strikes in Pakistan from across the rugged, poorly marked border with Afghanistan, including an alleged incursion Thursday in which Pakistani and American troops briefly exchanged fire.
"This is a moment of national crisis for Pakistan," said Farzana Shaikh, an expert on South Asia at Chatham House, a British think tank. "Mr. Zardari should call on the support of parties across the political spectrum. It's only by being seen to forge a national consensus that Mr. Zardari could then claim that Pakistan is fighting a war that is as much in its own interests as the interests of the United States."
Instead of shoring up support from his opponents, Zardari's refusal to reinstate the nation's popular former chief justice, whom Musharraf fired, has led to a rupture with former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Pakistan Muslim League-N party, the only real rival to the PPP. Sharif pulled his party out of a coalition government over the issue.
"The new government has been far more engaged in political wrangling, in trying to outmaneuver . . . Sharif's party and trying to consolidate its own position rather than attending to the far more pressing problems of militancy and the economy," Shaikh said.
That has hardened perceptions of Zardari as a political schemer and opportunist rather than an inspirational leader dedicated to the greater good.
Many Pakistanis still regard him as a venal wheeler-dealer whose bank accounts suspiciously bloomed during his wife's two terms as premier. His nickname was "Mr. 10%," a reference to his allegedly crooked business practices. He was jailed twice, following each of his wife's terms as prime minister, spending a total of 11 years behind bars on corruption charges. He says the charges, which were never proved, were politically motivated.
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Mental illness cited
Corruption charges were lodged against Zardari in several countries, including Britain, where he was able to delay legal proceedings because of diagnoses from two American doctors last year describing him as mentally ill, according to court affidavits seen by the Financial Times newspaper.
Such incidents have made people skeptical about him as their president.
