ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s main opposition party demanded Sunday that President Asif Ali Zardari, left, give up the sweeping powers he inherited from his predecessor, setting the stage for political turmoil just as the Obama administration wants the country to focus on fighting the Taliban.
Zardari’s grip on power is increasingly under threat from opposition lawmakers and elements within the powerful military who want him to resign or divest powers to the prime minister and take on a ceremonial role. ap polls show him to be very unpopular 15 months into a five-year term.
His presidency suffered another blow Saturday with the expiration of an amnesty protecting him, several key allies and thousands of other officials from graft prosecution. Although he enjoys immunity from prosecution as president, opponents could go to court to challenge his eligibility for office.
The nuclear-armed country’s Western backers had hoped Zardari and the civilian government he leads would usher in political stability after the chaos that marked the end of the nine-year tenure of his predecessor, military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
Zardari took a swipe at his critics, saying the democratically elected government “was being subjected to a vicious campaign to tarnish its image by the remnants of dictatorship.”
The Associated Press
