Asif Ali Zardari has one of the worst track records of any Muslim ruler – and that is saying something. But his decision to travel and enjoy the luxuries and hospitality of the west shows he has no shame left.
He has become one of the richest men in the world by usurping the wealth of the Ummah – many of whom face worsening hardship.
A report by the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, Washington says that about 77 million people go hungry in Pakistan, and 36 per cent of the population are afflicted by poverty, but that this will worsening as food insecurity is worsening. The report says that food insecurity is worsening with food inflation running at 15% per year. The report blames weather, resource shortages, and conflict but makes no mention of the fact that the rupee loses value as the US Federal Reserve prints more dollars to offset the bail out of the finance industry. 90 per cent or more of Pakistan’s dwindling water supplies are allocated to agriculture, but inefficient irrigation and poor drainage have produced epidemics of water-logging and soil salinity across the countryside. Pakistan is suffering through a chronic energy crisis with frequent electricity outages which undermine the effectiveness of agricultural technologies that rely on energy.
He is slavishly loyal to western governments – to the extent that when British Prime Minister David Cameron singled out the Zardari regime for praise whilst slapping the Muslims of Pakistan when he made pro-Indian propaganda to secure lucrative business contracts, and increase pressure on Pakistan to ‘do more’ in the war on terror. This desire to become the ghulam of Obama, Clinton, Holbrooke and Cameron – a modern day Mir Jaffer – explains why he has remained silent in the face of last weeks diplomatic outrage. Indeed, by visiting the UK and agreeing to meet Cameron, he has decided to kiss the hand that slapped the people he is supposed to represent. This is not keeping diplomatic channels open, this is diplomatic servitude and humiliation for the people of Pakistan. Those that argue this war is Pakistan’s should explain how it is that Pakistan had sacrificed its troops and US$30 billion to make the country less secure and more unstable; terror in Pakistan started AFTER NATO’s invasion of Afghanistan, which destabilised the region.
Now, in visiting France and the UK, at a time Pakistan is afflicted by floods, he has plummeted to new depths, though shows little sign of shame for doing so. It is not that there are people back in Pakistan to deal with the crisis – as some would say. It is the duty of a so-called head of state to show solidarity with people. German Chancellor Angela Merkel returned from leave to comfort her people after the recent fire caused loss of life at a music festival. Obama speedily visited Florida victims of the oil spillage so as to avoid the chastisement that George W Bush received for delaying a visit to victims of Hurricane Katrina. Yet Zardari sees no shame in flying in the opposite direction.
For these reasons and many others, we call upon Muslims to protest as he comes to enjoy himself in Birmingham this Saturday. Call for the sincere people in Pakistan to Oust Zardari, and Establish Khilafah.
The Messenger of Allah SAW said “the worst of your rulers are those whom you hate and who hate you and whom you curse and who curse you.” Sahih Muslim Book 19, Number 4573: