This worked for some time, but an alleged attempt to involve the United States more openly in Pakistani politics weakened, rather than strengthened, his hold on power. Indeed, while the Arab Spring ended the old corrupt bargain that kept so many autocratic rulers in power across the Muslim world, Zardari and his associates appear not to have received the message.
与许多前任巴基斯坦领导人此前所做的一样，扎尔达里也依靠美国的支持保持自己的位置。这有些时候会起作用，但是据称，试图让美国更加公开地参与巴基斯坦的政治不会巩固反而会削弱其掌控的大权。实际上，尽管阿拉伯之春结束了让穆斯林世界许多独裁统治者保持执政的腐败旧交易，扎尔达里及其助手似乎并没有收到消息。