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| Asif Ali Zardari (Wiki Info) |
By Azeem Ibrahim
President Asif Ali Zardari has shown an extraordinary knack for survival. How has a man so tainted with corruption survived?
Most countries use their constitution as the rock solid basis for their nation’s laws. Some see a constitution as an annoyance to be flouted, skirted around or rewritten according to the need of the regime. Pakistan’s Constitution has certainly taken a beating over the years as successive civilian and military governments have sought to change it, suborn it, or select the bits they agree with and ignore the rest.
President Asif Ali Zardari is the latest in a 60-year line of leaders whose powers and legitimacy have been redefined by an amended constitution. In April 2010, the Eighteenth Amendment effectively restored the 1973 Constitution, which had been overturned by Gen. Zia and Gen. Pervez Musharraf. The new Constitution strips away presidential powers and restores the authority of the prime minster, making it more difficult for military chiefs to throw out a civilian government.
Read the full story at The Diplomat