Zardari redux: handshakes, cheers and a presidential oath

ISLAMABAD: Veteran politician Asif Ali Zardari took oath for the office of president for the second time on Sunday during a poignant ceremony marked with warm hugs, handshakes, and thundering sounds of ‘Zinda Hay Bibi’ and ‘Aik Zardari Sab Pay Bhari’ at the Presidential Palace. Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa administered the oath to Zardari in an atmosphere of cordiality and mutual respect.

The jam-packed hall, studded with all the key figures of the state including Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir and Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, erupted in cheers when Asif Ali Zardari walked in for the historic oath. The fact that Zardari is the first civilian to be elected president for the second time was not lost on anyone.

It is important to mention the body language of the power players in attendance. For example, outgoing president Arif Alvi appeared awkward and alone, a shadow of his past self at the podium seated next to Asif Zardari, the chief justice and prime minister Shahbaz Sharif. No one from his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was present at the scene. When greeting each other, the army chief and Nawaz Sharif exchanged a polite handshake, whereas the DG ISI was seen warmly embracing the former prime minister.

Guests waited on their seats patiently for more than an hour before the big guns started arriving. An isolated ‘Pak Fauj Zindabad’ was heard when the army chief walked in. This was in stark contrast to the ‘Jiye Bhutto,’ ‘Aik Zardari Sab Pay Bhari’ and ‘Zinda Hay Bibi’ which thundered across the hall as soon as Asif Ali Zardari entered.

Another hint of the warm atmosphere of the ceremony was revealed in the seating plan. Former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif was seated in the same enclave that was reserved for the family of President Zardari; Bilawal, Aseefa and Bakhtawar, who was accompanied by her young children at the occasion. Oblivious to the significance of the moment they were witnessing, as children often are, Bakhtawar’s sons began to cry a few minutes into the ceremony. Conspicuous by their absence were Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief ministers. Former Punjab chief minister Mohsin Naqvi, now chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, was present at the scene and was seen accepting congratulatory greetings for an expected role in the federal cabinet.

PPP guests and lawmakers who attended the ceremony represented their party through full fervour and zeal. Pakistan needs healing after a controversial and arduous election and President Zardari’s oath-taking ceremony appears to be the first step in this direction.