ATP Poll: Grading Our Leaders, Once More

Adil Najam

Given all the political maneuvering, convulsions, rearrangements, revelations and rearrangements of recent days and weeks, maybe it is time, once more, to request our readers to please grade the performance of the key figures in Pakistan politics. We had asked you to do so in October 2010 and  in April 2010 and earlier in 2009 (here and here). We had presented the comparison between the first two results here. Now, as another tumultuous year in Pakistan politics draws to a close seems to be a good time to get a fourth data point.

Can you please grade for us the performance of the six power centers in Pakistan: the President, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice, the Chief of Army, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Media. The focus, once again, is on how you think they have performed in these roles. In this installment of ATP Polls we would like to find out how you grade the performance of those holding key offices in Pakistan: President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kiani, and Opposition Leader Nawaf Sharif. Once again, we have included the Media (as a whole and as an institution) since they also influence Pakistan’s power balance.

I know I am repeating myself (both in this post and from the previous ones), and I also realize that at some level this appeal may be ignored, but do let me say again that the purpose of this exercise is not to see whether you like these people or not, it is to see what how you think they have been performing in the offices they now hold. It is perfectly possible to not particularly like someone but come to the conclusion that they are doing a decent job in what they have been assigned to do, or vice versa. So, please, even though this is just a fun exercise, use your vote justly.

Do also comment on how you think they have been performing, and what aspects of their performance influenced your vote.