Asif Zardari wins Pakistani Presidential Election

Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, has won a landslide victory in the Presidential elections in Pakistan. This election eventuated in the wake of resignation by Pervez Musharraf to avoid being impeached.

What is in store for the new President?

Ever present economic problems and a growing Islamist insurgency  are threatening Pakistan’s stability. Mr. Zardari has these and many other issues in front of him from his very first day in office.

What About foreign Policy?

Pakistan has been a strong US ally in the “War Against Terrorism”. Whilst majority of the country was against the cooperation with an “enemy”, former president, Pervez Musharraf continued on his path of friendship with America. What changes will be brought by Mr. Zardari. Will he continue Pakistan’s cooperation with the United States which go against the majority opinion within Pakistan? Or will he drop Pakistan’s affiliation with the West and face isolation once again?

The Controversies…

Mr Zardari has been one of Pakistan’s most controversial politicians.

For past years he has been alleged to be involved in massive corruption scandals - although he has never been convicted.

What happens to Pervez Musharraf now?

Only time will tell if Mr. Musharraf is convicted of any felony or crimes against state.

Relationship with Neighbors

Pakistan has had a long running border dispute with India over the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Will Asif Ali Zardari be the man to rest this case once and for all?

And yeah, Lets not Forget the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)

Federally Administered Tribal Areas or FATA is a tribal controlled area situated between Pakistan and Afganistan. While technically, the area is part of Pakistan, in reality, Pakistan does not have any powers over the tribes in this region. This has always been a safe heaven for terrorists and the Taliban. The mainly Pashtun tribes that live in these areas are fiercely independent without any control from Islamabad but, until disagreements following the fall of the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan, the tribes had always had a friendly relationship with the Federal Government. What would be the new President’s stand on this issue. Will he let the terrorist continue to breed in these areas or will Pakistan make a move to remove these terrorist safe heaven’s….

Only time will tell….