“Mr Ten Per Cent” Zardari under vitriolic attack from British media

LONDON - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has not only come under attack for his London trip from various quarters in the country, but the British media has also launched a scornful assault on him for taking a foreign trip at a time when his country is reeling under the worst floods in recent times.

Zardari, who would be meeting British Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday, amidst calls from opposition parties to cancel the meeting in wake of Cameron’s ‘exporting terror’ jibe against Islamabad, has been targeted by the British media, which has been reporting extensively on the devastating floods that have affected over three million people in Pakistan’s north western region.

The Guardian called Pakistan “a washed-out state in need of international aid” while expressing fears that an inadequate civilian response to the disaster may let the extremists back in power in areas like Swat, just like what had happened after the deadly 2005 earthquake in the Kashmir region.

The Times reported that there was growing anger to the government’s flood response, especially President Zardari’s official trip to Europe.

The Independent pointed out that the prime reason behind Zardari’s London trip was not to shore up support for Pakistan, but to launch his son-Bilawal’s political career.

“Bilawal is stepping straight into the political limelight as a novice 21-year-old statesman and the heir apparent to a wealthy political dynasty with an unending talent for bloody internecine strife,” the paper wrote.

Calling Zardari, “Mr Ten Per Cent”, it further said that Pakistan President was determined to thrust his son into global politics as he (Zardari) “is badly in need of a boost to his support among influential British Pakistanis”.

The Daily Telegraph published a big piece titled “Asif Ali Zardari: life and style of Pakistan’s Mr 10 Per Cent” besides a chart showing his rise to power.

Quoting the Accountability Bureau, the paper said that Zardari has “amassed a property empire worth billions of pounds, with a chateau in France, homes in Britain, Spain and Florida, and bank accounts in Switzerland,” The News reports. (ANI)