Interview with Asif Ali Zardari

Asif Ali Zardari

ANDREW MARR: Welcome Mr Zardari.

ASIF ALI ZARDARI: Thank you.

ANDREW MARR: How important would it be for Pakistan to be re-admitted to the Commonwealth which is something that could happen this coming week?

ASIF ALI ZARDARI: I think it's very important and it'll show, it'll go for the first hundred days of our achievement as a democratic Pakistan, welcoming back into the Commonwealth. I think it'll be a great achievement.

ANDREW MARR: Now you've been engaged, you've been talking to President Musharraf about his future role. Is he slowly becoming a sort of figurehead without great powers of his own? Is that what's happening?

ASIF ALI ZARDARI: I'm not engaged with him but the Prime Minister is. And we're hoping to reduce his powers as the time goes on.

ANDREW MARR: One of the big issues I know is the future of the judiciary. Because of course a lot of those judges were sacked originally by Musharraf.

Now you spent two lengthy periods in jail as a result of some of those judges. You presumably have a slightly less ambiguous or enthusiastic attitude to having them all back again.

ASIF ALI ZARDARI: Not at all. If I can let the party? if the PPP can work with Musharraf under whose tenure I was in prison for five years and Mr Sharif whose tenure I was in for three years, judges are the last people I'm going to blame for anything.

Although of course it's a collective responsibility. But there is an ... it is a position of law which needs to be followed.

ANDREW MARR: Yes.

ASIF ALI ZARDARI: OK Musharraf did something wrong and he broke the law but don't expect me to do the same.

ANDREW MARR: Right okay. Now you yourself faced corruption charges and indeed alleged murder charges as well at one point.

That's all been cleared leaving you free should you want to, to stand for parliament yourself. Do you see yourself as a sort of professional politician in the future in Pakistan?

ASIF ALI ZARDARI: I've been a member of the parliament, I've been a member of the senate. I've been in the parliament before.

ANDREW MARR: Before, yes.

ASIF ALI ZARDARI: But at the moment I think the responsibilities of keeping Pakistan together and keeping the PPP as a democratic party together is more important than just the government. Governments come and governments go. Political parties stay.

ANDREW MARR: Now of course the biggest issue from the point of view of the outside world that your coalition faces is what to do about the militants in the north, in the tribal areas, whether you should be talking to the Taliban and Taliban supporters. The Americans are clearly very hostile to this. What's your view?

ASIF ALI ZARDARI: I think a bit of both. We're not one for dialogue at all with the [inaudible] as they put it. But obviously the people at large we should negotiate with, the?, to take them on board. We won from the northern areas. PPP has won seats from the northern areas.

So we obviously have support here. And our coalition partners, the NP has won seats from there. So we have support in the area. People are with us. People are with democracy. People are with the hope of change.

ANDREW MARR: It's been an extraordinary turbulent few months both for you and for Pakistan. Are you broadly speaking optimistic about the country now?

ASIF ALI ZARDARI: Yes of course. We always are. We're optimistic that the world will look at democracy. It's a growing democracy. We've only been in power for one and a half month to say the least. And we need help.

ANDREW MARR: All right. Mr Zardari. Thank you very much indeed for coming in to talk to us.

INTERVIEW ENDS

Please note "The Andrew Marr Show" must be credited if any part of this transcript is used.

NB: This transcript was typed from a recording and not copied from an original script.

Because of the possibility of mis-hearing and the difficulty, in some cases, of identifying individual speakers, the BBC cannot vouch for its accuracy

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