Meengla
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Oh absolutely. Zardari's reign was marked by corruption and non-governance for sure. But he DID inherit a country from Musharraf where President Musharraf had been reduced to being the 'bunker president' by 2008 because of the extreme acts of violence.
Zardari was a very tolerant person. Extremely tolerant: He could have tried another 'Changa Manga' to wrestle Punjab govt from NS after the 2008 elections--there was a chance--but he didn't. He had the important Const Amendments for renaming NWFP to KPK which pacified the nationalists led by ANP. He gave more autonomy to the so-called 'Northern Areas' by making that Gilgit-Baltistan. He worked with President Musharraf to allow a smooth transfer of power to Zardari and then worked with all kinds of opposition parties to 'live and let live'. He, reluctantly, did restore the judges and of course he quite willingly gave up the special 8th Amendment powers acquired by Zia ul Haq. He continued the freedom of press--a press which really really put nasty garbage on him on daily basis. He retained Musharraf's more liberal reforms like seats for women in the Parliament. Under him, the minorities had more assurance of their voices being heard and for that people like Salman Taseer paid the ultimate price.
As Zardari had once said: 'We are making history. Not headlines'. And considering what he had inherited in 2008, I'd say President Zardari's rule would qualify for one of the best for the establishment of a culture of tolerance and democracy in Pakistan.
Not everything boils down to financial corruption--at least not in the long run.
