Who is Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan presidential candidate endorsed by PM Shehbaz Sharif?

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said that Asif Ali Zardari will be elected as the next president of Pakistan, asserting that the two will have a “strong coordination” to strengthen the ailing economy of the country. Addressing a dinner hosted in honour of leaders of allied parties, Sharif said that all the coalition partners would cast a vote for Zardari in the presidential election on March 9, reported local news media.

“The coalition government secured two-thirds of the votes in the recent general elections and it would be reflected during the presidential election,” he said.

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Zardari, as a joint candidate of Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N), is contesting the presidential election against Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP) chief Mahmood Achakzai - a candidate of the Sunni Ittehad Council. Reportedly, Zardari has submitted two nomination papers for the election, one in Islamabad and the other one in Karachi.

Who is Asif Ali Zardari?

1. Born on July 26, 1955, in Karachi, Asif Ali Zardari is the son of Hakim Ali Zardari, a tribal chief and prominent landowner. Zardari served as the 11th president of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013. He has been a member of the national assembly of Pakistan since August 2018.
2. Zardari rose to fame after his marriage to the late twice-elected prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto in 1987. However, when Bhutto's government was dismissed by the then-Pakistani president Ghulam Ishaq Khan in 1990, Zardari was widely criticised for being involved in corruption scandals.
3. When Bhutto was re-elected as PM in 1993, Zardari was serving as the federal investment minister and chairperson of the Pakistan environmental protection council.
4. In 1996, Zardari was arrested for his wife's brother Murtaza's murder. He was also indicted for corruption charges. Zardari was released from jail in 2004 when he went into self-exile to Dubai, however, returned to Pakistan when Bhutto was assassinated in 2007.
5. Following his return to the country, Zardari led his PPP party to victory in the 2008 general election. Notably, he spearheaded a coalition that forced military ruler Pervez Musharraf to resign. Zardari was also acquitted of several criminal charges the same year.

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