This film continues a recent British tradition of attacking politicians early in their careers. Once, a leader would have had to form at least one administration before meriting a feature-length TV demolition. But Blair and Brown were picked off as aspirants and even Michael Howard, although he never became prime minister, was subjected to a peak-time comedy about a draconian home secretary aiming higher. Although being spread through new technology, the kind of jokes that Zardari objects to have an older history: one of them — that the great leader has asked for his face to go on a stamp but citizens aren't sure which side to spit on — was applied, for example, to Richard Nixon. Curiously, the British figure most vulnerable to the gag — Elizabeth II — has avoided it, even among republicans.
Pakistan president Asif Zardari bans jokes ridiculing him - Telegraph
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If you mistakenly, or just for fun, share with a friend one of the hundreds of derisory jokes about the leader floating around electronically, you could get a year prison sentence. In addition to facing up to 14 years in the jail, violators could have their property seized, Malik said, adding that the government would seek Interpol assistance in deporting foreign offenders. Surrounded by controversy throughout his political career, Zardari has been a subject of harsh public criticism since he was elected as president by the national parliament a year ago. Most of the criticism stems from his government's sluggishness in addressing problems such as severe power outages, intolerably fast-rising inflation, and a sputtering economy.
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