Political maestro Asif Ali Zardari turns 65

By Tanzeel Rauf Farooqui

(Pakistan News & Features Services) 

Asif Ali Zardari, a man of multiple reputations, has turned 65 on July 26. Popularly known as the master of reconciliation, the former President of Pakistan is acclaimed to be a political maestro. 

Born to Hakim Ali Zardari and Bilquis Sultana Zardari in a notable and prominent tribe on July 26, 1955, Asif Zardari had a resourceful background. His political rise, however, came after he married Benazir Bhutto, the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, on December 18, 1987. 

Elections were held the following year and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) came to power with Benazir Bhutto becoming the first women Prime Minister in Islamic world. 

Upon the dismissal of the PPP-led government, Asif Zardari fell prey to political vindication and faced multiple and prolonged arrests starting in October 1990. He, however, was elected as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan in the same month of October 1990. 

Despite securing bail, he was not allowed to be released from prison by the government and had to wait until February 1993 before he was released. Later he was acquitted of all charges. 

He joined the cabinet of the caretaker government in April 1993, and after the general elections that year, Benazir Bhutto’s PPP once again rose to the pinnacle of power. 

Controversies awaited the second government of the PPP as well with the Bhutto family divided between Benazir Bhutto and her brother Mir Murtaza Bhutto, who was being supported by their mother, Begum Nusrat Bhutto. 

Following the murder of Murtaza Bhutto in a shootout, the government was dismissed and Asif Zardari was arrested again in November 1996. 

Despite the corruption charges and various scandals his popularity graph continued rising and he was elected to the Senate of Pakistan in March 1997. 

While remaining incarcerated, he suffered an alleged suicide attempt in May 1999 and had to be shifted to the hospital from Karachi’s Central Jail. 

After prolonged imprisonment before completion of any trial, he was released on bail in November 2004 but was shortly re-arrested and placed under a short term of house arrest before he was allowed to leave for exile. 

A master of reconciliation as he was to become, he managed to strike a deal with the then President General Pervez Musharraf, known as the National Reconciliation Order (NRO) which was drafted in October 2007, through which he managed to waive all the charges leveled against himself and Benazir Bhutto. 

As a result of the NRO, Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan after her exile and was unfortunately assassinated on December 27, 2007. 

Carrying the legacy, Asif Zardari came to the forefront and alleged that his spouse was assassinated due to the lack of security provided by the government. 

Elections were held in 2008 and the PPP returned to power after a gap of 12 years. Upon the resignation of General Pervez Musharraf, Asif Zardari was elected as the new President of Pakistan and he went on to complete his term of five years, as did the PPP government, unlike the previous two occasions when they were shown the door in about a couple of years only. 

Asif Zardari silenced his critics in his role as head of the state as he proved himself to be an accomplished statesman. He rose to the occasion much to the dismay of his opponents who had thought of him to be not fit for the job. He conducted various successful visits around the world and was welcomed by his counterparts. 

The control which he had over his party was commendable, as he, while being the President, discarded the President’s power to dismiss the government through the celebrated Eighteenth (18th) Amendment, a power which was arguably misused by many Presidents in the past and he became the pilot who brought Pakistan back on route to the democratic principles. 

He’s also credited to be the leader who brought the mighty China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project to Pakistan, which has been consolidated by the successive governments since then. 

The PPP sat in the opposition after losing the 2013 elections to the Pakistan Muslim League, headed by Mian Nawaz Sharif, while the Asif Zardari-led PPP was overwhelmed by the cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI). 

Asif Zardari was arrested in a fake bank accounts case, which the PPP alleged, was registered by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) due to the pressure of the government. He was nominated as an accused and was arrested on June 10, 2019 by the NAB and stayed behind bars until he was granted bail on December 11, 2019. 

Regarded as one of the most unpredictable politicians that Pakistan has ever produced, Asif Zardari has faced imprisonment for a period of almost fourteen (14) years and his health has deteriorated to a substantial degree. 

He is still regarded as a major player in the politics of Pakistan, the master of reconciliation, without any doubt. He is one of the few politicians having shown that he is not afraid of incarceration and has, on multiple occasions, stated that prison is his second home. 

The ever-smiling, witty politician cannot be understood by everyone as he has developed a personality that is indeed distinct to his political rivals. The political slogan of the PPP that is “Ek Zardari sub pe bhaari” does in both letter and spirit suit this unique politician.