Asif Ali Zardari has been elected President of Pakistan for the second time.
Voting was held in the National Assembly and Legislative Assemblies of Pakistan on Saturday. Zardari is going to take oath as President today.
He is the first person to become the President of Pakistan twice. Apart from this, he is the first civilian President who has successfully completed his term once.
He was the President of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013. The opposition candidate in this election was Mahmood Khan Achakzai in front of Asif Ali Zardari. Zardari got 255 votes in the parliament. Whereas Achakzai got only 119 votes.
Several cases were also registered against Asif Ali Zardari after the assassination of the former Prime Minister and his wife Benazir Bhutto.
He had to remain in jail for 11 years on charges of murder, kidnapping and corruption. Looking at the political history of Pakistan, it did not seem that he would ever be able to reach the top of power in Pakistan.
US Ambassador Ann Peterson had said in her letter to the US government that General Pervez Musharraf did not want Asif Ali Zardari to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
That is why Benazir Bhutto was made the Prime Minister. That is why Asif Ali Zardari was made the President in 2008. He was born in the year 1955.
He did graduation in Business Administration from London. His father Hakim Ali Zardari was a landlord. Apart from this, he was also a part of Sheikh Mujib’s Awami National Party.
In 1987, when he got married to former PM’s daughter Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari’s name started appearing in political circles.
Elections were held only after a year of marriage and Pakistan Peoples Party got majority. Benazir Bhutto became the first female Prime Minister of Pakistan.
After this, Asif Ali Zardari’s name also started appearing in corruption. President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed the Bhutto government.
When Nawaz’s government was formed, Zardari was arrested in 1990. He was accused of murder, corruption and kidnapping which could not be proved in court.
Benazir Bhutto again became PM in 1993 but was removed in 1996. He was in Dubai at that time. He was arrested again as soon as he reached Pakistan.
After this he remained in jail for 10 years. During that time military rule also started in Pakistan. Asif Ali Zardari was also accused of murdering his wife Benazir Bhutto’s brother.
However he was later acquitted. After being released from jail, he went to Dubai. He again returned to Pakistan after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007.
In 2008, Muslim League also joined the People’s Party. After this he remained the President of Pakistan for five years.
The special thing about Zardari is that he did not choose the path of confrontation with the army. He liked to talk to army officers in case of differences.