Asif Ali Zardari
Asif Ali Zardari (Urdu: آصف علی زرداری; Sindhi: آصف علي زرداري; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 10 March 2024. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party.[3]
Asif Ali Zardari
Muhammad Mian Soomro (acting)
Position established
26 July 1955
Karachi, Federal Capital Territory, Pakistan (now Sindh, Pakistan)
Bilawal Zardari
Bakhtawar Zardari
Aseefa Zardari
Bilquis Sultana
Hakim Ali Zardari[2]
See Zardari family
He earlier served as the 11th president of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013, the first president born after Independence. He is the widower of twice-elected Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto. He was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2018 to 2023, and in 2024.
The son of Hakim Ali Zardari, a landowner from Sindh, Zardari rose to prominence after his marriage to Benazir Bhutto in 1987, who became the Prime Minister of Pakistan after her election in 1988. When Bhutto's government was dismissed by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in 1990, Zardari was widely criticized for involvement in corruption scandals that led to its collapse.[4][5] When Bhutto was reelected in 1993, Zardari served as Federal Investment Minister and Chairperson of Pakistan Environmental Protection Council. Following increasing tensions between Bhutto's brother Murtaza and Zardari, Murtaza was killed by police in Karachi on 20 September 1996.[6][7] Bhutto's government was dismissed a month later by President Farooq Leghari, while Zardari was arrested and indicted for Murtaza's murder as well as corruption charges.[8][9]
Although incarcerated, he nominally served in Parliament after being elected to the National Assembly in 1990 and Senate in 1997. He was released from jail in 2004 and went into self-exile to Dubai, but returned when Bhutto was assassinated on 27 December 2007. As the new co-chairman of the PPP, he led his party to victory in the 2008 general elections. He spearheaded a coalition that forced military ruler Pervez Musharraf to resign, and was elected president on 6 September 2008. He was acquitted of various criminal charges the same year.[10][6]
As president, Zardari remained a strong American ally in the war in Afghanistan, despite prevalent public disapproval of the United States following the Raymond Davis incident and the NATO attack in Salala in 2011. Domestically, Zardari achieved the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment in 2010, which constitutionally reduced his presidential powers. His attempt to prevent the reinstatement of Supreme Court judges failed in the face of massive protests led by his political rival Nawaz Sharif. The restored Supreme Court dismissed the PPP's elected Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani for contempt in 2012 after Gillani refused to write to the Government of Switzerland to reopen corruption cases against Zardari. Zardari's tenure was also criticised for mishandling nationwide floods in 2010, and growing terrorist violence. Following multiple bombings of Hazaras in Quetta in early 2013, Zardari dismissed his provincial government in Balochistan.
Towards the end of his term, Zardari recorded abysmally low approval ratings, ranging from 11 to 14%.[11][12] After the PPP was heavily defeated in the 2013 general election, Zardari became the country's first elected president to complete his constitutional term on 9 September 2013.[13] His legacy remains divisive, with political observers accusing his administration of corruption and cronyism.[14][15] However, he became president of Pakistan again in March 2024 due to a coalition agreement which was reached following the 2024 Pakistani general election.[16]
Early life and education
Zardari was born on 26 July 1955 in Karachi, Sindh to a prominent Sindhi family and received his upbringing and education in Karachi.[17][18] He belongs to the Zardari family and is the only son of Hakim Ali Zardari, a tribal chief and prominent landowner, and Bilquis Sultana Zardari.[19][20] His paternal grandmother was of Iraqi descent,[21] while his mother was the granddaughter of Hassan Ali Effendi, a Sindhi educationist who is known as the founder of the Sindh Madressatul Islam.[22][23][24]
In his youth, he enjoyed polo and boxing.[25] He led a polo team known as the Zardari Four.[26] His father owned Bambino[27]—a famous cinema in Karachi—and donated movie equipment to his school.[25] He also appeared in a 1969 movie, Salgira, as a child.[28] Zardari's academic background remains a question mark.[25] He received his primary education from Karachi Grammar School. His official biography says he graduated from Cadet College, Petaro in 1972.[29][25] He went to St Patrick's High School, Karachi from 1973 to 1974; a school clerk says he failed his final examination there.[25] In March 2008, he claimed he had graduated from the London School of Business Studies with a bachelor of education degree in the early 1970s.[27] Zardari's official biography states he also attended Pedinton School in Britain.[25][27][30] His British education, however, has not been confirmed, and a search did not turn up any Pedinton School in London.[25][27][30] The issue of his diploma was contentious because a 2002 rule required candidates for Parliament to hold a college degree,[27] but the rule was overturned by Pakistan's Supreme Court in April 2008.[25][30]
Career
Early political career and Benazir Bhutto era
Zardari's initial political career was unsuccessful. In 1983, he lost an election for a district council seat in Nawabshah, a city of Sindh, where his family owned thousands of acres of farmland.[25] He then went into real estate.[25]
He married Benazir Bhutto on 18 December 1987.[31][32] The arranged marriage, done in accordance with Pakistani culture, was initially considered an unlikely match.[31][32] The lavish sunset ceremony in Karachi was followed by immense night celebrations that included over 100,000 people.[31][32] The marriage enhanced Bhutto's political position in a country where older unmarried women are frowned upon.[31][32] Zardari deferred to his wife's wishes by agreeing to stay out of politics.[32]
In 1988, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq died when his plane exploded in midair.[33] A few months later, Bhutto became Pakistan's first female prime minister when her party won 94 of 207 seats contested in the 1988 elections.[34]
Jail and exile
The New York Times report
A major report was published in January 1998 by The New York Times detailing Zardari's vast corruption and misuse of public funds.[54] The report discussed $200 million in kickbacks to Zardari and a Pakistani partner for a $4 billion contract with French military contractor Dassault Aviation, in a deal that fell apart only when the Bhutto government was dismissed.[54] It contained details of two payments of $5 million each by a gold bullion dealer in return for a monopoly on gold imports.[54] It had information from Pakistani investigators that the Bhutto family had allegedly accrued more than $1.5 billion in illicit profits through kickbacks in virtually every sphere of government activity.[54] It also reported Zardari's mid-1990s spending spree, which included hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on jewellery.[54] The arrangements made by the Bhutto family for their wealth relied on Western property companies, Western lawyers, and a network of Western friends.[54] The report described how Zardari had arranged secret contracts, painstaking negotiations, and the dismissal of anyone who objected to his dealings.[54]
Citibank, already under fire for its private-banking practices, got into further trouble as a result of the report.[55] Zardari's financial history was one case study in a 1999 U.S. Senate report on vulnerabilities in banking procedures.[56]
Second imprisonment and conviction
In March 1997, Zardari was elected to the Senate while in a Karachi jail.[57][58] In December 1997, he was flown to Islamabad under tight security to take his oath.[57]
In July 1998, he was indicted for corruption in Pakistan after the Swiss government handed over documents to Pakistani authorities relating to money laundering.[59] The Swiss had also indicted him for money laundering.[59] At the same time, in a separate case, he and 18 others were indicted for conspiracy to murder Murtaza Bhutto.[60] After criminal prosecutions began, Citibank closed Zardari's account.[55]
In April 1999, Bhutto and Zardari were convicted for receiving indemnities from a Swiss goods inspection company that was hired to end corruption in the collection of customs duties.[61] The couple received a fine of $8.6 million.[61][62] Both were also sentenced to five years imprisonment, but Bhutto could not be extradited back to Pakistan from her self-imposed exile.[61][62] Zardari was already in jail awaiting trial on separate charges.[61][62] The evidence used against them had been gathered by Swiss investigators and the Pakistani Bureau of Accountability.[61][63]
In May 1999, he was hospitalised after an alleged attempted suicide.[64] He claimed it was a murder attempt by the police.[64]
In August 2003, a Swiss judge convicted Bhutto and Zardari of money laundering and sentenced them to six months imprisonment and a fine of $50,000.[65] In addition, they were required to return $11 million to the Pakistani government.[65] The conviction involved charges relating to kickbacks from two Swiss firms in exchange for customs fraud.[66] In France, Poland, and Switzerland, the couple faced additional allegations.[67]
In November 2004, he was released on bail by court order.[68][69][70] A month later, he was unexpectedly arrested for failing to show up for a hearing on a murder case in Islamabad.[68][69][70] He was placed under house arrest in Karachi.[68][70] A day later, he was released on $5,000 bail.[68][69] His release, rearrest, and then release again was regarded as a sign of growing reconciliation between Musharraf's government and the PPP.[68][69] After his second release in late 2004, he left for exile in Dubai.[25][71]
Exile and legal problems
He returned to Lahore in April 2005.[71][72][73] Police prevented him from holding rallies by escorting him from the airport to his home.[71][72][73] He criticised Pervez Musharraf's government, but rumours of reconciliation between Musharraf and the PPP grew.[72][73] Zardari went back to Dubai in May 2005.[74][75]
In June 2005, he had a heart attack and was treated in the United Arab Emirates.[74][75] A PPP spokesman stated he underwent angioplasty in the United States.[75] In September 2005, he did not show up for a Rawalpindi hearing on corruption charges; the court issued an arrest warrant.[75] His lawyers stated he could not come because he was recovering from his treatment.[75] Following a request by the Rawalpindi court, Interpol issued a red notice in January 2006 against the couple which called on member nations to decide on the couple's extradition.[76][77]
When Bhutto announced in September 2007 her upcoming return to Pakistan, her husband was in New York City undergoing medical treatment.[78] After the October 2007 bombing in Karachi that tainted Bhutto's return, he accused Pakistani intelligence services of being behind the attacks and claimed "it was not done by militants".[79][80] He had not accompanied Bhutto, staying in Dubai with their daughters. Bhutto called for the removal of the chief investigator of the attacks because she claimed he had been involved in Zardari's alleged torture in prison in 1999.[81]
In November 2007, Musharraf instituted emergency rule for six weeks (see Pakistani state of emergency, 2007),[82] under the pretext of rising Islamist militancy, a few days after Bhutto's departure for Dubai to meet with Zardari.[83][84] Immediately after the state of emergency was invoked, Bhutto returned to Pakistan, while Zardari again stayed behind in Dubai.[83][85] Emergency rule was initiated right before the Supreme Court of Pakistan began deliberations on the legality of Musharraf's U.S.-backed proposal—the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO)—to drop corruption charges against Bhutto and Zardari in return for a joint Bhutto-Musharraf coalition to govern Pakistan.[83][84] Bhutto and Zardari sympathised with Pervez Musharraf on his feud with the Supreme Court, but simultaneously criticised the imposition of martial law.[83][84][85] Before the Supreme Court could issue a decision, Musharraf replaced its members with his supporters.[83][84]
In the midst of his exile, Zardari had several different legal problems. In Pakistan, Musharraf granted him amnesty for his alleged offences through the National Reconciliation Ordinance, drafted in October 2007.[66] However, the ordinance faced mounting public pressure and an uncompromising judiciary.[66] In addition, it only dealt with charges up to 1999.[66] This left open the possibility of investigations into his alleged involvement in about $2 million in illegal kickbacks to Saddam Hussein, discovered in October 2005, under the oil-for-food program.[66] If the ordinance was rescinded, he would have had to deal with charges relating to evading duties on an armoured BMW, commissions from a Polish tractor manufacturer, and a kickback from a gold bullion dealer.[66] In Switzerland, Bhutto and Zardari appealed the 2003 Swiss conviction, which required the reopening of the case in October 2007.[66] In November 2007, Swiss authorities returned the frozen $60 million to him through offshore companies because of the National Reconciliation Ordinance.[86] In Spain, a criminal investigation was opened over the money laundering for the oil-for-food program because of the illicit profits handled through Spanish firms.[66] In Britain, he was fighting a civil case against the Pakistani government for the proceeds from the liquidation sale of a Surrey mansion.[66] He successfully used his medical diagnosis to postpone a verdict on his British manor trial.[87][88][89]
In exile, he shifted between homes in New York, London, and Dubai, where his three children lived.[25]
On the night of 27 December 2007, he returned to Pakistan following his wife's assassination.[90]
First Presidency of Asif Ali Zardari
- Abdul Hameed Dogar (July 2007-March 2009)
- Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (March 2009-December 2013)
- Yousaf Raza Gillani (2008-2012)
- Raja Pervaiz Ashraf (2012-2013)
- Gillani government (March 2008–June 2012)
- Raja Pervaiz Ashraf government (June 2012–March 2013)
Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi (June 2012–March 2013)
- Lt-Gen Shuja Pasha (2008-2012)
- Lt-Gen Zaheer-ul-Islam (2012-2014)
Between first and second term
He became active in the PPP, which he voted to revamp, after his presidency.[290] He succeeded Ameen Faheem as chairman of PPPP in 2015.[291] In December 2016, he announced that both he and his son Bilawal, would contest the 2018 general election.[292]
In July 2017, during the investigation of the Panama Papers case, Zardari demanded Nawaz Sharif's resignation.[293] In August 2017, Pakistan's anti-corruption court acquitted him from his last pending case in which he was accused along with his late wife, Benazir Bhutto, of laundering illegal kickbacks and maintaining assets beyond known sources of income. The case had dogged him for 19 years.[294][295] His rival Imran Khan believed that Zardari's acquittal was the result of a deal between the PML-N and PPP. However he denied any kind of collaboration.[296] The National Accountability Bureau also challenged the acquittal.[297] On 2 September, after his wife's murder case verdict, which declared Pervez Musharraf a fugitive and convicted two senior police officers, he said that he was not satisfied with the verdict and that he would appeal the judgment as it had acquitted five Pakistani Taliban suspects.[298] In 2019, he was arrested in Islamabad over a money laundering case.[299] An anti-graft court issued an indictment of Zardari on corruption charges on 10 August 2020.[300][301]
Personal life
Family
Zardari and Benazir Bhutto had one son and two daughters. His son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, is the current Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party. His older daughter, Bakhtawar, was born on 25 January 1990,[308] and his younger daughter, Aseefa, was born on 3 February 1993.[309] After Benazir Bhutto's death, his sister Faryal Talpur became the guardian of his children[18] and he changed Bilawal Zardari's name to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.[310][311]
His mother died in November 2002, during his detention in jail.[312] His father Hakim Ali Zardari died in May 2011.[313] After that he became the chieftain of the Zardari tribe. However, initially he had decided not to assume leadership and wanted to pass the position to his son Bilawal.[314][313]
Spirituality
Zardari is known to seek the advice of "soothsayers and healers", especially during times of political troubles. He has visited Prof. Ahmad Rafique Akhtar, a well-known Sufi scholar based in Gujar Khan who often counsels government officials and military leaders. During his presidency, he would consult with his then spiritual leader, Pir Mohammad Ejaz, about such matters as travel times, and animals were sacrificed during particularly trying periods.[315][316]
Health
His mental health has been a subject of controversy.[87][88] He has repeatedly claimed he was tortured while in prison.[317] He was diagnosed with dementia, major depressive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder from 2005 to 2007, which helped influence the verdict of one of his corruption trials.[87][88][89] He now claims he is completely healthy, with only high blood pressure and diabetes.[87][88]
Wealth
In 2005, Daily Pakistan reported he was the second richest man in Pakistan with an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion.[318] He amassed great wealth while his wife was prime minister.[41] In 2007, he received $60 million in his Swiss bank account through offshore companies under his name.[86] He was reported to have estates in Surrey, West End of London, Manhattan (a condominium in Belaire Apartments), and Dubai,[26][41] as well as a 16th-century chateau in Normandy.[265] In Britain, he used a common legal device—the purchase of property through nominees with no family link to the Bhuttos.[41] His homes in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad are called Bilawal House I,[319] Bilawal House II,[320] and Zardari House[321] respectively.
Surrey estate
He bought a 365-acre (148-hectare) 20-bedroom luxury estate in Rockwood, Surrey in 1995 through a chain of firms, trusts, and offshore companies in 1994.[18][61][66][322][323] The country home's refurbishment abruptly ended in October 1996, shortly before the end of his wife's second term.[323] He initially denied for eight years that he owned the property and no one paid the bills for the work on the unoccupied mansion.[66][322] Creditors forced a liquidation sale in 2004 and the Pakistani government claimed the proceeds because the home had been bought with money obtained through corruption.[66] However, he stepped in to claim that he actually was the beneficial owner.[26] As of November 2008, the proceeds were in a liquidator bank account while a civil case continues.[66]
The estate includes two farms, lodgings, staff accommodation, and a basement made into an imitation of a local pub.[18][322] The manor has nine bedrooms and an indoor swimming pool.[323]
He had sent large shipments from Karachi in the 1990s for the refurbishment of Surrey Palace.[66] He has faced allegations from various people, including the daughter of Laila Shahzada,[324] that he acquired stolen art to decorate the palace.[323] He earlier had plans for a helipad, a nine-hole golf course, and a polo pony paddock.[66]