A president at large By Irfan Husain

[Nek Muhammad]

When Hurricane Katrina caused havoc in New Orleans and devastated the surrounding countryside, President Bush sparked off indignation and outrage by his seemingly distant attitude.

A few days later, when he and his advisers realised the public relations disaster this hands-off approach had caused, they went into overdrive to assure Americans that their president was on top of the situation. Similarly, President Obama seemed to practically camp in the worst-hit area following the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico after the perception gained ground that he was not involved enough in resolving the crisis.

And now, the President of Pakistan appears to have gone walkabout during the country’s worst floods in decades. When public demands were first made for him to cancel his visit to the UK following David Cameron’s undiplomatic comments about Pakistan in Bangalore, I put the reaction down to the usual knee-jerk reflex that comes to us so naturally. After all, Britain and its prime minister are hardly major players in the region: witness Cameron’s embarrassing but accurate assertion in Washington that Britain was a junior partner in its ‘special relationship’ with the United States. In any case, the allegations of ISI double-dealing are scarcely new, and over the years, they have come to form the background noise in our troubled relations with the West.

Just as Cameron’s accusation was irrelevant to the situation, so too was Zardari’s visit to the UK. Apart from a photo opportunity outside 10, Downing Street, and a few smiles and some inane sound bites for TV cameras and microphones, not much was going to be achieved. True, millions would be wasted, but that’s the price we pay for all VIP visits abroad. So I had no problem with Zardari’s visit one way or another in the context of Cameron’s anti-Pakistan statement in India.

However, the ongoing devastation caused by the floods changes the picture. With millions made homeless and hundreds dead, surely the situation demanded Asif Zardari’s presence in the country. True, there is little he could personally have done to actually improve things. But just as Bush and Obama learned, it is the impression of being in charge that is important. And while it might have diverted important helicopter capacity, a visit to the flood-affected areas by the president might have cheered up some displaced families, while encouraging those engaged in relief work.

The sheer callousness revealed by Zardari in going ahead with the visits to France and the UK exposes, for the umpteenth time, the huge disconnect between the rulers and the ruled in Pakistan. While politicians continuously talk about the people and the masses, the only time they actually go to them is to ask for their votes. The rest of the time it’s all about riding the gravy train. Having said this, I am sure that had she been alive, Benazir Bhutto would have had the sensitivity to cancel her trip at a time of such enormous human suffering. Few people are aware, for instance, that when she narrowly escaped a suicide attack on her return to Karachi on October 18, 2007 she visited wounded survivors at various hospitals hours after the bombing.

Apart from the floods, Karachi has gone into lockdown following the assassination of an MQM legislator. Over 75 people have been killed and dozens of vehicles torched in the wake of the crime while the police remain helpless in the face of armed gangs roaming the streets. Surely this is another reason for Zardari to have stayed home. A reader from Karachi’s Al Falah area writes to inform me of an incident in which a young boy was beaten up by local political activists and handed over to the police just because he looked like a Pakhtun.

Given this kind of ethnic hatred and bloodletting rife in the country’s biggest city, with one coalition partner at the other’s throat, surely the PPP leadership needs to be playing a conciliatory role. Unfortunately, however, the top echelon of the party are in England currently, preparing for a large rally in Birmingham at which Zardari was reportedly going to introduce his son Bilawal to the party faithful.

I wish young Bilawal well in his future political career, and am glad he has cancelled his appearance at the Birmingham rally. Even though he isn’t in Pakistan helping his countrymen, he is reported as saying he will be raising funds for the flood victims. But while he is not in a position of authority, his father is. As president, Zardari’s primary duty lies to the country, not to his political party.

Since he was elected, Zardari has been reluctant to expose himself to would-be assassins, and has therefore preferred the high security of the presidency to the uncertain hinterland. I can understand and sympathise with this cautious approach. However, the occasional visit to the troops to encourage them as they fight the Taliban in the tribal areas would have been well viewed in the country. Apart from being good for his image, it would have reinforced Zardari’s position as the constitutional commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

When people are suffering hardships, they are comforted by the presence of their leaders, even if it is fleeting. It is odd that Gen Kayani should have visited the flood-affected areas while the president has not. Similarly, army corps commanders have met to make plans for the emergency while Zardari has yet to chair such a meeting of the federal cabinet. It would seem that the civilian government is content to let the army take the lead in rescue and relief operations while civilian volunteers (including members of extremist outfits) help as they can.

While an appeal has been launched in Britain to raise funds, our president has yet to take this initiative in Pakistan. Even after flying off to France and the UK, Zardari could have addressed Pakistanis on TV to reassure them and give them some comfort. Indeed, I am surprised none of his media-savvy advisers have urged him to be more in touch.

Quick to get some mileage out of this fiasco, Nawaz Sharif told us how disappointed he was that Zardari had decided to go ahead with his UK visit after Cameron’s statement. This criticism came from the man who imported a rare Siberian tiger for his private zoo in Raiwind. To survive the Punjab summer, the poor beast had to be kept in an air-conditioned enclosure.

If Zardari is unpopular with a reported 76 per cent of Pakistanis, we can guess why.