Asif Ali Zardari - a shrewd politician
Pakistan
He rose to prominence when he became president in Sept 2008
By Ahad Khan
Asif Ali Zardari was born in Karachi on July 26, 1955 in an influential Zardari Baloch family of Sindh. His father Hakim Ali Zardari, a tribal chief and businessman, remained a member of parliament thrice.
Asif Ali Zardari received his early education from Cadet College Petaro and Saint Patrick's High School, Karachi. He married former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 1987.
Lesser known Facts
1) He was an avid boxer as well as a polo player in his youth.
2) He appeared as a child actor in a 1969 film, Salgira.
3) He lost the district council seat of Nawabshah in 1983 elections.
4) He was a caretaker minister from April 22, 1993 to May 26,1993 in the federal caretaker cabinet.
5) He was elected an MNA and then senator from jail in 1990 and 1997.
Imprisonment
The former president spent almost eight years in jail on charges of corruption, kidnapping and money laundering from 1990-93 and then from 1997-2004. He was again briefly arrested in 2019 but released afterwards.
Exile
The PPP co-chariman mostly remained in exile from 2004-2007 in Dubai, London and New York with his children.
Political Career
He was first elected an MNA from Karachi South in 1990 while he was in jail. He was then elected senator in 1997 while languishing in jail again.
After spending his time in exile, Zardari came back to Pakistan through an NRO agreed with then president Musharraf after assassination of his wife Benazir Bhutto.
He rose to prominence when he became president on Sept 6, 2008 and remained in the office till Sept 8, 2013. He was elected MNA from NA 207 Nawabshah-1 in 2018 by grabbing 101,362 votes, defeating Sher Muhammad Rind of GDA who got 54,344 votes.
Election 2024
The former president is vying for the National Assembly seat from NA-207 Nawabshah.
Key events during Zardari's stint as president
1) Passing the 18th amendment in Parliament in April 2010.
2) Starting CPEC with China on May 22, 2013.
3) Killing of OBL
4) Memogate Scandal
5) Floods of 2010
The author is associated with Dunya News
