Imran Khan vs Asif Ali Zardari? Who is the better and more effective politician?

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Imran Khan's mass appeal and popularity is influenced by his youthful good looks in his prime, legendary cricketing superstardom and philanthropic achievements along with his popular rhetoric among the masses i.e.

- I will not go to the IMF

- I will not give an NRO to the opposition, I will not compromise on corruption

- Absolutely Not to the US and the West, I will not bow down to Western Dictats

- I want to get closer to other non-arab muslim states like Turkey, Malaysia at the expense of the Arabs

- Solidarity with the Kashmiris

- Supporting the religious parties and elements of society

- Promise of establishing a social welfare Islamic state modelled on Medina i.e. Free Health Care, Free Housing, Free Shelter Homes for the poor, Universal one syllabus education in Pakistan

However Dr Moed Pirzada, Wajahat Saeed Khan have been frequent critics of IK's stubborn, idealistic politics which are not necessarily reflective of the ground realities he finds himself in. They feel that PTI and IK missed out on a golden opportunity in these elections and should have negotiated a power sharing agreement with the establishment and the PPP where they should have negotiated the release of their political prisoners and workers so that the party could slow and gradually recover.

They made many other points to support their arguments i.e.

- The Holy Prophet during his time always as a first option often negotiated and talked to his opponents even his staunch enemies and fighting, taking up arms was always the last resort, option.

- In most democracies in the world, all political parties have different interest, manifestos, idealogies and they abuse, insult, humiliate, point score the hell out of each other during election campaigns but once elections are over, all political players in the interest of the country sit down civilly and try to find common solutions, give and take in the larger interests of the country.

- No democracy is perfect, some are better than others, India probably has equivalent amounts of corruption as Pakistan, but they have kept the army out of politics and have allowed their democracy, institution to flourish, evolve with time. Similarly if certain parts of Pakistan i.e. Sindh loves the PPP, Bhutto's, Zardari then too bad, you have to talk civilly and negotiate with them and respect the fact that their mandate is just as genuine as yours.

On the other end of the spectrum, Asif Zardari gets a lot of praise for being a very smooth, calm, patient political player and someone Imran Khan should have understood how to do politics from

- Bilawal and Zardari used their connections with Hussain Haqqani, lobbying firms, Joe Biden, contributed to his 2020 election campain and influenced his anti IK sentiment and kickstarted the campaign to oust IK from office in 2021-2022.

- Zardari as President of Pakistan from 2008-2013 handsomely rewarded his Millitary Secretary Maj - General Amir and developed some close relationships with some other generals in the army. Lt-General Amir is now a Core Commander and Zardari was able to trap the DG ISI Nadeem Anjum in honey trap operation and got him on his payroll as well.

- Zardari was the root cause of the split between Chaudhry Shujaat and Perveiz Elahi.

- Zardari bought out the defecting PTI members in 2022 and gave the no-confidence motion against IK a big boost something IK and PTI were never able to recover from.

- NS wanted to have early immediate elections in May 2022 but Zardari did not agree, he knew the PDM govt would have to impose a strict IMF program on the people and this would badly damage PML N in Punjab and PPP would emerge much more favourably.

- Zardari knows that PML N is further screwed because they are being forced by the establishment to take over the reigns of the centre and they cannot do so without PPP's help therefore Zardari offered support to PML N in exchange for all the constitutional roles, he knows full well PML N is further screwed because they have to further enforce the strict tough conditions of the IMF program.

- Zardari by appointing himself as President is now going to further develop close links with the army, he is now in a perfect position to take his revenge i.e. Einth se Einth baja doon ga, to take his revenge on PML N and Nawaz Sharif for all that he did to him from 1997-99 and 2013 to 2017. Zardari has the power to appoint the governors of his own choosing as well.

- Zardari will use the presidency to further lobby and leverage his children Bilawal, Asifa with major international brokers so that they can carry on with Bhutto's legacy.

Based on the above, who is the more effective and successful politician who knows how to get things done?
 
What’s the point if you are still a puppet of boots like Zardari?

Khan has brought in a revolution on a scathing scale. He was awarded with a huge mandate. His Feb 8 victory is a true underdog cornered tiger story. I hope a quality film is made on his victory 5 or 10 years down the line. What did Zardari win genuinely? Nothing, nada.

I agree with the narrative of not joining hands with PPP, it would have been a weak govt and carpet could have been pulled anytime resulting in IK’s depleting vote bank and tattered image. The goal was not to shake hands with Zardari for govt but to implement civilian supremacy and to push boots in barracks.

As I said the status co is on its way out and whatever you said about Zardari will go in a dust bin. Change is inevitable. You can delay mother nature, can’t fight it.
 
If you are specifically talking about politics and here I mean the political system of Pakistan then no doubt Zardari is a seasoned politician but when it comes to true politics, politics of morality, and having a sense of care towards Pakistan, Imran is way above anybody else in Pakistan. Zardari is a morally, and financially corrupt person who got his wife killed so that he could come into power.
 
If you are specifically talking about politics and here I mean the political system of Pakistan then no doubt Zardari is a seasoned politician but when it comes to true politics, politics of morality, and having a sense of care towards Pakistan, Imran is way above anybody else in Pakistan. Zardari is a morally, and financially corrupt person who got his wife killed so that he could come into power.
Politics of morality? Imran Khan sent a delegation of PTI members to Rabwah seeking the Ahmadiyya vote, promising to raise a voice for their plight. The then head (in Rabwah) who later became the 5th Caliph told the delegation to raise the voice for the Ahmadis first or when in power, and if they fulfil that promise, that is when the Ahmadis in Pakistan will vote for him unanimously.



Khan came into power in 2019…he did NOTHING for the plight of Ahmadis.
 
Asif Zardari is a sharp minded politician because he never takes any risk and molds himself as per the situation whereas Imran Khan is an honest leader but sometimes fails to assess the situations and gets stubborn which costed him his political career.
 
Asif Zardari is a sharp minded politician because he never takes any risk and molds himself as per the situation whereas Imran Khan is an honest leader but sometimes fails to assess the situations and gets stubborn which costed him his political career.
Sometimes the words "sharp minded politicians" actually = lack of ethics and morality.

In this case, thats true.
 
Sometimes the words "sharp minded politicians" actually = lack of ethics and morality.

In this case, thats true.
Yes that's true because politics itself is a dirty game and anyone with a messy personality can rule in it and everyone knows Zardari is one of them.
 
To me, Zardari is an extortionate pile of dung who overcharged a foreign uni friend of mine for a simple call made to his parents in Pakistan, it was in the days towards the end of his run when the old weasel wasn’t done taking the last drop of water from his home soil and the height of load shedding.
 
Yes that's true because politics itself is a dirty game and anyone with a messy personality can rule in it and everyone knows Zardari is one of them.
Actually it is not, and its unfortunate that quite a few pakistanis like you are only exposed to such type of anti democratic, unethical, immoral and corrupt practices in the name of politics. so while you may feel this is normal, this filth does not pass for politics in most countries.

dont get me wrong, politics is a dirty business as they say, but what the zardaris, sharifs and mullas of pakistan have done it a steaming pile of filth. not politics.
 
To me, Zardari is an extortionate pile of dung who overcharged a foreign uni friend of mine for a simple call made to his parents in Pakistan, it was in the days towards the end of his run when the old weasel wasn’t done taking the last drop of water from his home soil and the height of load shedding.
zardari was a telephone operator or was your friend staying with him? im not suprised though. he is a cheap animal who we dont eat cuz its haram.
 
Majority Pakistani posters dislike Zardari and Shariffs , yet constantly want Indians to choose Gandhi family hope you see how we feel when a National part of 1 Billion people is run by one family that too not the entire family but mother and her children.

Don’t want to derail the thread. Mods can delete if needed.
 
Majority Pakistani posters dislike Zardari and Shariffs , yet constantly want Indians to choose Gandhi family hope you see how we feel when a National part of 1 Billion people is run by one family that too not the entire family but mother and her children.

Don’t want to derail the thread. Mods can delete if needed.
none of the pakistani i know want gandhi family or anyone in particular running the show in india. we dont have interest in the matter. The only interest is for indian muslims and their well being, wherever it comes from. believe it or not there are a lot of pakistanis who still have families and conacts in india and are in touch with them.
 
zardari was a telephone operator or was your friend staying with him? im not suprised though. he is a cheap animal who we dont eat cuz its haram.

He was studying here and making a call from the UK to Pakistan, and what he was charged previously had tripled or quadrupled in the days leading up to the end of Zardari’s tenure
 
none of the pakistani i know want gandhi family or anyone in particular running the show in india. we dont have interest in the matter. The only interest is for indian muslims and their well being, wherever it comes from. believe it or not there are a lot of pakistanis who still have families and conacts in india and are in touch with them.
There is literally a thread on rahul Gandhi PM..
Economy is the only way to help people, Corporations privatisation not having some appeasing low IQ people run the country.
Manority issues occur in a country due to economy, if there are jobs for people it would be ok.
 
For Pakistan: Imran Khan was much needed.
For Pakistans ill-wishers (and certain neighbour): Mr 10%
 
What has AZ achieved for PK. No doubt he has made billions for AZ and sold his soul to the devil but he too will die, and when he is about to take his last breath, those billions will be as useful as roller skates to a guy with no legs and no arms. Death is the greatest equaliser and every soul will have to face it.
 
What has AZ achieved for PK. No doubt he has made billions for AZ and sold his soul to the devil but he too will die, and when he is about to take his last breath, those billions will be as useful as roller skates to a guy with no legs and no arms. Death is the greatest equaliser and every soul will have to face it.
But the problem is that people like AZ don't face consequences swiftly, not even death before 80!
 
There is literally a thread on rahul Gandhi PM..
Economy is the only way to help people, Corporations privatisation not having some appeasing low IQ people run the country.
Manority issues occur in a country due to economy, if there are jobs for people it would be ok.
I have seen it and if I remember correctly it was not in support of Gandhi just to discuss him. Obviously if not was Gandhi vs. chaiwalla you know who Pakistanis would prefer but most of us don’t care much for him.
 
I'm sure the Pakistanis would much rather have a Sharif at the helm compared to Zardari.

Pakistan ground to a standstill in 2008 - 2013. Went backwards in fact.
 
Even if you ask Zardari's son the same question he surely wouldn't pick Zardari who is so corrupt and incomparable to Imran Khan.
 
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