last month,”Ek zardari sab pe bari” (“One Zardari is greater than all”) echoed through the presidential palace as Asif Ali Zardari, with his signature smile, took the oath of office as Pakistan’s president for the second time.
Few figures have been as persistent and often controversial in Pakistani politics over the years as Zardari. He is a man who has spent more years in prison than in political office.
He first came to the spotlight in late 1988, when his wife Benazir Bhutto became Pakistan’s first female prime minister. The Bhutto family were prominent politicians. Her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, served as prime minister in the 1970s before being overthrown and executed by the military. In 2007, Benazir Bhutto was shot dead while campaigning. Her killers have yet to be caught.
Mr. Zardari, now 68, was a businessman who played an active role in the Bhutto government. It was during her first tenure that allegations began to circulate that he was using her office for corrupt dealings and government contracts. When her government collapsed in 1990, much of the blame fell on Zardari. Two years later, he was imprisoned on corruption charges and the kickbacks he demanded earned him the popular nickname “Mr. 10%,” a nickname that has stuck with him to this day.
When Bhutto returned to power in 1993, Zardari was appointed to the cabinet and his role increased. “During the second Bhutto government, Mr. Zardari’s influence over party politics and government affairs increased,” said political analyst Nusrat Javeed.
When Bhutto’s government collapsed again in 1996, Zardari was arrested and charged not only with corruption, including amassing $100m (£78m) in bank deposits and luxury overseas fortunes, but also with his brother-in-law Mir Murtaza Bhutto. He was also charged with plotting an assassination. He was one of Zardari’s most vocal critics.
In her book A Song of Blood and Swords: A Daughter’s Memoir, author Fatima Bhutto recalls the last words of her father Murtaza, who was shot dead during an alleged encounter with the police: . Zardari… he finally got us. ”
Zardari denied all charges and was never convicted of murder. He was convicted in 2002 of accepting kickbacks during his wife’s tenure, and a year later he and Bhutto were both found guilty in a Geneva court of money laundering of $13 million. . However, both cases were later overturned on appeal.
With General Pervez Musharraf in power after a coup, Zardari spent the next eight years in prison, where he was subjected to torture and was not released until 2004.
Three years later, he was thrust back into the political limelight after his wife was assassinated while speaking at a rally in Rawalpindi. Although Zardari became the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party and led the PPP to a landslide victory following a wave of sympathy after her death, she never achieved the same popularity among the people.
“Mr. Zardari was not the kind of person who would travel around the country addressing voters. He was not charismatic or famous. He was a shrewd politician, known for his gamesmanship and deals. A person,” said author and analyst Zahid Hussain.
Mr. Zardari was first appointed president after his 2008 election victory, and although this was largely ceremonial, he still played an influential role. But after Swiss authorities dropped the money laundering case against him at the request of the Pakistani government, it didn’t take long for corruption allegations to resurface. He denied any wrongdoing.
Zardari was Pakistan’s first president to serve a full five-year term, but the PPP suffered a crushing defeat in the 2013 elections, when the country’s economy was in turmoil.
In the aftermath, Zardari returned to Karachi in Sindh province, the PPP’s center, where he still controlled the provincial government. Many argue that under Prime Minister Zardari’s PPP government, corruption has become deeply entrenched in Sindh, with nothing happening unless money flows into the regime’s pockets, causing long-term damage to development and law and order. ing.
One influential businessman claimed on condition of anonymity: They call it a system. It is supported by top leadership, so everyone has a share. At least 10% go to the top and the lower middle class gets their share, which is more than 20% these days. ”
Sharjil Inam Memon, a senior minister in Sindh province, termed the allegations against Zardari and the PPP as “political propaganda and lies”. He said: “We don’t get a percentage for any project and there is no department involved in getting a percentage. All are baseless allegations.”
While Bhutto made a name for herself by standing up to Pakistan’s powerful military, which is accused of being behind the assassination, Zardari has distanced herself from the fight and is a powerful general who is the country’s political leader. He has shown an attitude of mainly cooperating with others.
“Mr Zardari has made it clear in party meetings that we should not and cannot afford to fight the role of the military,” said a PPP politician who requested anonymity.
Mr. Zardari has maintained that he will hand over some of the political reins to his son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who currently co-chairs the PPP with him and previously served as foreign minister. is still seen as ultimately holding power.
Hussain further added, “Bilawal has always been under the shadow of his father, who is known for taking decisions. It is Zardari who takes the decisive political decisions.”
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was put on the back burner after February’s controversial general elections amid allegations of widespread vote fraud, but PPP decides to join Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in coalition At that time, it was assumed that the father would go his own way. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party failed to come to power despite receiving the most votes.
Mr. Zardari acted as a key kingmaker in giving the coalition the necessary numbers for a majority, and later successfully negotiated one of the top posts himself, becoming the first person to serve as Pakistan’s president twice. Ta.
“For some people, he’s a villain,” Javeed said. “And to some, he’s a hero.”
