After 2013, Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of Pakistan People's Party (PPP), the former president of the country, is going to be the president again for the second time. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PPP finalized such a decision in a midnight meeting on Tuesday (February 20). The PML-N-PPP gave the information on Wednesday (February 21) after the consensus.
This information has been reported by the Pakistani media Dawn and news agency AFP.
According to the report, Pakistan, which is plagued with economic tension, is almost bankrupt. As of January 26, the country's reserves were only 8.21 billion dollars. By the end of the year, the global debt will be 7 billion dollars.
The report also says that Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of Pakistan's former prime minister and PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif, is going to be the country's prime minister. Shehbaz became the prime minister in 2022 after ousting popular leader and former prime minister Imran Khan. The Sharifs are one of the Pakistani families that have ruled Pakistan for decades. On the other hand, Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is set to lose to the alliance despite getting more votes.
Asif Ali Zardari was born in 1955 into a prominent Baloch family of the Nawabshah of Sindh. His political career began in 1987. Zardari was also jailed for several years on corruption charges. He was married to a prominent political family of Pakistan. His wife Benazir Bhutto was the daughter of the former Prime Minister of the country. who herself later became the prime minister. A year after their marriage, Benazir Bhutto assumed the post of prime minister in 1987. Pakistan's first woman prime minister.
The same year, Zardari began his own political career as a member of the National Assembly. While prime minister, Bhutto invited Ali Zardari to join his administration as Pakistan's minister of Investment and Environment which created a lot of controversy. The opposition accused Zardari of widespread corruption during his time in the cabinet. He was also accused of embezzling public funds. Since then, due to corruption and scandal, he was called 'Mr. 'Ten Percent' is given the title. In other words, without 10 percent commissions, he would not advance a step forward. Both the opposition and government investigators alleged that Zardari had smuggled hundreds of millions of dollars out of the country. He was in jail from 1997 to 2004, although the charges were not proved.
Before 2007, Ali Zardari was not a well-known face outside of Pakistan. But after militants killed his wife, Zardari's name came to the international stage. After the death of Benazir Bhutto, he was easily elected to the presidency in 2008, gaining public sympathy. But his journey to higher political power was once again marred by controversy and allegations of widespread corruption. He has repeatedly faced allegations of misconduct and corruption in his political career. However, nothing was proved in court. He is also known as a shrewd political leader. Last year Dawn reported that Asif Ali Zardari is undoubtedly one of the most intelligent political figures in the country.
During his tenure as president, he signed two bills to provide harsher punishments for various crimes against women. The first bill called for severe punishment for forcibly marrying women under various customs and depriving them of their rightful inheritance. The second bill demands stricter punishment for those involved in acid attacks.