KEY POINTS:
Less than a year ago Asif Ali Zardari appeared to be yesterday's man. Seemingly sidelined by his wife, Benazir Bhutto, and her party, facing a series of corruption charges and bearing the nickname "Mr 10 Per Cent", it appeared his days of power and influence were over.
Now he is back, as never before. Having been catapulted to the forefront of Pakistan's political maelstrom by the assassination of his wife, Zardari is poised to become his country's head of state.
At the end of a remarkable week which saw Pervez Musharraf resign as President to avoid impeachment, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) announced that its chosen candidate to replace him would be Zardari.
The man who spent 11 years in jail over corruption charges he claims were politically motivated, yesterday confirmed he would take the post. It would have been remarkable if the party he has led since his wife's death in December had not agreed to nominate him.
Yesterday PPP officials were meeting coalition partner Nawaz Sharif to try to secure his backing for the nomination. "We want a joint candidate for the race," said PPP spokesman Jameel Soomro.
Sharif, who heads the junior partner in the coalition, demanded that the PPP agree to slash the President's powers before he would support Zardari.
Sharif also pushed forward the deadline for the restoration of dozens of judges dismissed by Musharraf - another key issue dividing the two main parties.
February's parliamentary elections saw the PPP secure most seats and Zardari has become increasingly powerful by dint of his leadership of the party, gifted jointly to him and his son, Bilawal, by Bhutto in her will. With Musharraf much weakened, Zardari has acted as de facto prime minister, and hand-picked senior appointments.
Subsequently, the centre of political power in the capital has shifted to a leafy street in a quiet neighbourhood. On a side street, past layers of barbed wire, concrete blocks, metal detectors and barriers, lies Zardari House. It is here, some kilometres from the row of Islamabad's ornate government buildings, that key decisions are now made.
Each day, the home attracts a steady stream of visitors. Outside the gates, the media gathers behind a phalanx of television cameras. In front, a steady queue of courtiers and supplicants arrives to be searched and vetted before they jostle for an audience with the man who may soon become President.
Zardari has also worked to rebuild his image. The wardrobe is now replete with well-cut suits, the salt-and-pepper moustache is neatly trimmed, and the slick, jet black hair is tightly combed back. In person, his manner is alternately charming and confident.
He is plainly a person who spent much of his time in exile and jail reading. Party members have noticed a more reflective man, equipped with a broader vocabulary and an arsenal of quotations - ranging from Shakespeare to Jesse Jackson.
Yet his broad, teeth-baring smile is still occasionally broken by flashes of anger when he begins to rail against his critics. "He has been through a lot," said an aide. "He will forgive people, but his Baluch roots never allow him to forget. The old rivalries still play out in the back of his mind."
- INDEPENDENT, AP
