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Through his position as joint head of the Pakistan People's party, Asif Ali Zardari controls the government
Formally, the Pakistani president, Asif Ali Zardari, exercises few powers in a position that is now supposed to be largely ceremonial.
However, he derives his authority from his position as the joint head, with his son Bilawal, of the ruling Pakistan People's party (PPP). From his party position, Zardari controls the government, including the appointment of the prime minister.
When the PPP was elected in 2008, he chose the party veteran Yousuf Raza Gilani as the prime minister. Gilani, who is theoretically the one in charge of day-to-day government, has proved fiercely loyal to his party and the president so far.
Zardari and his cronies in the presidency are immersed in all aspects of the government, as the regular press releases issued from his office make clear, with updates on him dealing with everything from flood control measures to foreign affairs. No doubt the orders to the government are continuing to flow from his hospital bed in Dubai.
If Zardari becomes incapacitated then a real power vacuum could follow, as the government is run by few ministers of any ability or initiative. Indeed they appear to have been chosen for that reason.
"Even in his absence, the government is being run by Zardari. Gilani is a front showman," said Rasul Bakhsh Rais, professor of politics at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. "The prime minister is a nonentity, except as the appointee of Asif Ali Zardari."
After coming into office, Zardari shed the few powers that the presidency still enjoyed, which included the authority to dismiss the government. His position in the PPP, along with his sister Faryal Talpur and his son Bilawal, is what guarantees his supremacy.
The contours of power in Pakistan are further complicated by the overwhelming role played by the military in politics and affairs of state. Even when Pakistan has had elected governments, the armed forces retain a virtual monopoly on foreign and security policies. The current government has been repeatedly slapped down and humiliated by the military when it has tried to take some control over foreign affairs and the working of the security apparatus of the state.
Early on in Zardari's tenure, it was announced that the military's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency was to be made accountable to the civilian government, only for the decision to be reversed hours later when the armed forces simply refused.
Whoever is in charge, the four years of the current government have been marked by an almost total absence of policy and implementation on bread-and-butter issues, including taxation, energy supply, health and education, while corruption scandals constantly brew.
Seeing the lack of action, an activist judiciary, headed by an implacable opponent of Zardari, the chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, has tried to take over important functions of the executive.
Amid constant swirling rumours that the military or the courts are poised to sack the government, a paralysis of administration has taken hold, while Zardari and his coterie are accused of using their positions to fill their pockets.
