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Asif Ali Zardari has made history by being the only Pakistani political leader to be elected president for the second time. Often described as an accidental leader, the widower of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto is perhaps the most enigmatic politician in the country. For the past three decades, he has alternated between prison and power.

Zardari’s election as president for the second term illustrates the paradoxes of Pakistani politics. He has once again proved skeptics wrong who had been predicting the end of the road for him.

While his Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) has extended support to the six parties’ coalition government led by prime minister Shahbaz Sharif, the party has decided not to join the cabinet. Past master of political wheeling and dealing Zardari has managed to extract the maximum price for his party’s support for the minority government. The PPP has emerged as the third largest party in the national assembly and its support is critical for the survival of the shacky administration.

Zardari’s return to the top constitutional office has come amid allegations of manipulation of the recently concluded parliamentary elections that have widened political polarization in the country. The latest decision of the Election Commission depriving the PTI-supported group of its share of........

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