Asif Ali Zardari: life and style of Pakistan’s Mr 10 Per Cent

[HAIDER]

As an investment minister in his wife’s administration in the 1990s, Mr Zardari was accused by political rivals of taking personal commissions on government contracts.
Pakistan’s state anti-corruption body claims he has amassed a property empire worth almost £1 billion, with a chateau in France, homes in Britain, Spain and Florida, and bank accounts in Switzerland.
He has been accused of playing a role in the murder of his brother-in-law, Mir Murtaza Bhutto. He is also alleged to have arranged for a bomb to be tied to the leg of a businessman and sent him to withdraw money as a pay-off.

He has always denied the allegations, which led to him spending eight years in prison, maintaining they were politically motivated. But they have endured under successive Pakistani administrations and continue to dog him even in the role of president.

Born in Karachi in 1955, the son of a wealthy Sindhi tribal leader, he married Mrs Bhutto, the daughter of the first elected prime minister of Pakistan, in 1987. His political ambitions were realised under his wife, who came to power as prime minister the following year.

But when she was deposed in 1990, Mr Zardari soon found himself at the centre of persistent corruption allegations surrounding property deals.

His first spell in prison followed shortly afterwards but on his release in 1993, Mrs Bhutto was back in power and immediately appointed him a minister in her government.

He returned to prison when his wife again lost power in 1996, this time for eight years, until he was bailed in 2004 while facing charges including corruption and conspiracy to murder. The charges were formally dropped as part of an amnesty brokered by Gen Pervez Musharraf, the former president, in 2007, but they continue to undermine him.

Following Mrs Bhutto’s assassination in December 2007, he was catapulted into the leadership of his wife’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), becoming president after a wave of sympathy carried it to power. But Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau, which led a successful court bid to have the amnesty overturned, has suggested he used the proceeds of corrupt deals on his property portfolio.

He is said to have interests in three properties in London, but it was his ownership of 335-acre Rockwood House in the North Downs in Surrey that came to symbolize his wealth and ambition. He is said to have bought the £4  million mock Tudor pile partly because he had fallen in love with the local pub, the Dog and Pheasant. When the landlord refused to sell him the pub, he is said to have had a replica built in the basement of the house. The property also boasted polo pitches, a stud farm and a golf course. Faced with claims that he had bought the house with money made illegally, he denied he was even the owner, asking: “How can anyone think of buying a mansion in England when people in Pakistan don’t even have a roof over their heads?”

It was only after the house had been sold and the Pakistani authorities tried to seize some of the money that he acknowledged his ownership.
Asif Ali Zardari: life and style of Pakistan’s Mr 10 Per Cent - Telegraph

 

[HAIDER]

Pakistan has had to endure more than its fair share of disasters, but even by its harsh standards, the floods that have driven millions of people from their homes, and killed at least 1,700, qualify as a tragedy.

In such circumstances, you might expect Asif Ali Zardari, the country's president, to abandon his European tour and return home at the earliest opportunity to assume personal control of the relief operation – such as it is. The military's failure to organise the evacuation has left entire communities stranded, while the authorities' wider inability to deal with the floods' aftermath has led to outbreaks of cholera in the Swat valley.
And yet Mr Zardari displays no inclination to return home, even though David Cameron's injudicious comments about Pakistan's ambivalent approach to fighting terrorism provided him with the perfect excuse. His officials insist that he is leaving the crisis in the capable hands of his prime minister, Yousef Raza Gilani, while he presses on with his equally important diplomatic mission to France and Britain to discuss global security issues.

But the reality is that Mr Zardari has a very different agenda – which is why, after spending a convivial few days at his family's opulent chateau in northern France, he and his entourage have taken up residence in London's Churchill hotel. They will then travel to Chequers for talks with Mr Cameron, before concluding their visit with the highlight of the entire tour, at least as far as Mr Zardari is concerned – a massive rally in honour of his eldest son, Bilawal Zardari Bhutto.

Under Pakistan's constitution, Bilawal, who will be 22 next month and has just completed a history degree at Oxford University, is not allowed to run for office until he is 25. But ever since Benazir Bhutto was assassinated by a suicide bomber in the garrison town of Rawalpindi in December 2007, Mr Zardari, her husband, has been determined to ensure that Bilawal becomes the latest in a long line of Bhuttos to lead the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party.

The fortunes of the 700,000-strong Bhutto clan have fluctuated wildly since the PPP was founded by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan's first elected prime minister, in 1967. His government collapsed amid allegations of corruption in 1977, and he was hanged two years later under martial law. Benazir was only 24 at the time of her father's death. Initially, she was placed under house arrest, but in 1984 made her way to London, where she became the PPP's leader-in-exile.

She returned in triumph following the mysterious death in a helicopter crash of General Zia al-Haq, the country's military dictator, and fulfilled her life-long ambition of becoming prime minister in 1988. The previous year she had married Mr Zardari, the son of a wealthy tribal leader from Sindh. When she was forced out of office in 1990, Mr Zardari found himself at the centre of corruption allegations surrounding a variety of property deals.

Although Mr Zardari has always protested his innocence, he spent a total of 11 years in jail – many of them in solitary confinement. Even after his release, rumours swirled that he had acquired a fortune worth £1 billion, including homes in France and Britain. For years, Mr Zardari denied ownership of a 335-acre estate in Surrey, until his stake in the property was revealed when it was sold.

In the light of Mr Zardari's controversial past, it is unlikely that he would ever have become president had it not been for his wife's dramatic assassination. Even then, other factions within the family believed they had a better claim, including Mumtaz Bhutto, the 77-year-old clan leader who had previously opposed Benazir's accession.

To keep the rival factions at bay, Mr Zardari worked hard to safeguard the position of his eldest son. And it is to this end that, rather than returning home to rally his country in its hour of need, he will be attending Saturday's 3,000-strong rally in Birmingham, where Bilawal is to make his first political speech.

For the past two-and-a-half years, Mr Zardari, who shares the chairmanship of the PPP with his son, has effectively acted as a regent. Soon, he is expected to stand down as the PPP's co‑chairman, opening the way for Bilawal to become its undisputed leader.

The importance of Saturday's rally lies in the fact that the majority of the 1.2 million Pakistanis resident in Britain support the PPP, not least because it has always taken care to protect the interests of Britain's Pakistani immigrants, as well as taking a hard-line position on Kashmir. The British Government, for its part, has quietly lent its support because of the party's perceived pro-Western stance.

But beyond the power politics, Saturday's rally is a microcosm of the wider problem that afflicts Pakistan. By attending, Mr Zardari will help to secure the PPP's leadership for his son – yet in doing so, he will, like so many before him, be putting clan before country. And few in Pakistan will easily forget the image of their president's helicopter leaving the elegantly manicured lawns of his French villa at a time when millions of his countrymen have been deprived of homes of their own.
Asif Ali Zardari is fiddling while Pakistan drowns - Telegraph

 

[khanz]

I never hated a man as much as i hate zardari majority of british pakistanis support PPP ? wtf ! every single pakistani i know would love to strangle zardari.Lets see how many traitors turn upto this rally whats even going through their minds i wonder when pakistan is under water ? how disgusting holding a rally not to raise money or awareness for flood victims but to continue feudal politics and launch his son's career . f uck zardari that lil ***** has no shame no empathy to pakistan's suffering.

 

[whocares]

are there no sane , secular democratic leaders of integrity who can potentially lead pakistan ? (like our MMS)

 

[TOPGUN]

Here is a brief little history about him a thief a trader for the nation coming from a family of traders and thiefs spend several years in jail and now he wants to kill dry our nation this guy needs to be brought down ASAP.

 

[ajpirzada]

British media turns guns on Zardari




Thursday, August 05, 2010
Independent says ‘Mr Ten Per Cent’ determined to thrust his son into politics; Guardian tells Cameron five things he must know about Pakistan; Telegraph says Zardari amassed billions of pounds; The Times shows concern at cost and purpose of Pak president’s visit

By Murtaza Ali Shah

LONDON: The British media turned its guns on President Asif Ali Zardari as he was holed up in his luxury Churchill Hotel Royal suite with his entourage.

The media highlighted how a country literally drowning as a result of the worst floods in living memory could afford a president and his lifestyle after images of the 16th-century chateau, built for the widow of King Philippe VI and now owned by Hakim Ali Zardari, were flashed where the president had stopped over for two hours.

The president was busy holding what a source in the High Commission of Pakistan called ‘in-house business meetings’. He also made a telephone call to the former prime minister Gordon Brown and met Conservative Party chair and cabinet minister Sayeeda Warsi.

The British media has been regularly covering the floods in Pakistan but as the true scale of the damage done to the country emerged, the editorials here adopted a hostile tone questioning whether it is right for the head of a democratically elected government to abandon the whole nation at such a time of mourning for a so-called official engagement from which little mileage is to be expected.

The Guardian called Pakistan “a washed-out state in need of international aid” in its leader comment and feared that an inadequate civilian response to a disaster may let the Islamists back in power in areas like Swat just like they did in the aftermath of the earthquake in Kashmir five years ago.

The Times said that the concerns at the cost and purpose Mr Zardari’s European visit will not have been allayed by pictures showing the Pakistani leader “taking off in a helicopter from the 16th century Chateau de la Reine near Rouen in Normandy, which is owned by his family.”

It said that there was growing anger to the government’s flood response, especially President Zardari’s official trip to Europe. The Mirror newspaper highlighted how Pakistan was suffering very badly in a news piece titled ‘a flood of compliant’ and noted the reaction of British Pakistanis who expressed their opposition to the president’s visit. It predicted that David Cameron would give little ground over the terror row at Friday’s talks at Chequers.

The Independent said that the real, officially, for Saturday’s speech is to shore up the Pakistani leader’s support in Britain but the real reason for his appearance will be “the young man sitting beside him in a smart suit”.

The paper compared BilawalZardari with his contemporaries and said while they will be worrying, after graduation, about paying off their heavy debts, “Bilawal is stepping straight into the political limelight as a novice 21-year-old statesman and the heir apparent to a wealthy political dynasty with an unending talent for bloody internecine strife”.

The paper said that “Mr Ten Per Cent” was determined to thrust his son into global politics as he (Zardari) “is badly in need of a boost to his support among influential British Pakistanis”. The paper speculated that on Saturday afternoon, a new member of the Bhutto clan will step forward to accept “that strangest of modern political roles - the dynastic democrat”.

The Daily Telegraph published a big piece titled “Asif Ali Zardari: life and style of Pakistan’s Mr 10 Per Cent” and charted the president’s rise to power. The paper, quoting the Accountability Bureau, claimed that the president has “amassed a property empire worth billions of pounds, with a chateau in France, homes in Britain, Spain and Florida, and bank accounts in Switzerland”.

The paper, relying on information provided by the corruption probe body, wrote that the president has interests in three properties in London and went on to describe the once ownership of 335-acre Rockwood House (known infamously as Surrey Palace in Pakistan) in the North Downs in Surrey “that came to symbolize his wealth and ambition”.

For the benefit of President Zardari and his team, the Guardian published a list of what the visiting head of Pakistan should “educate” the UK prime minister about after Pakistani officials said Mr Zardari will attempt to “educate” David Cameron about their country and region when the two men meet at a summit on Friday.

The paper highlighted that since Mr Zardari is not necessarily the most objective teacher, David Cameron should know five things about Pakistan before their meeting. 1- Terror: Pakistan is more victim than perpetrator where more than 3,000 people died in terrorist attacks in 2009, compared with about 2,000 in Afghanistan; 2 - ****** Border: the Afghan-Pakistani frontier, is largely imaginary and the current border related problems were made in Britain; 3- Kashmir: India routinely blocks international discussion of Kashmir and quoted a Guardian commentary as such “not mentioning Kashmir is as sensible as not mentioning Gaza when discussing the Middle East” and asked the “plain speaking” PM not to try to dodge this issue; 4- Democracy: There are signs that the current army chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani may be getting too big for his boots and posed a question to Cameron whether he would like to deal with democrats or another dictator; and 5- People: Doubling Britain’s annual £130m aid to Pakistan would be an audacious move at a time of domestic financial austerity.

The paper said it would serve the British national interest - and after the bitter arguments of recent days, would send an overdue, positive message in typical “Cameron Direct” style.

British media turns guns on Zardari

 

[Haywards 5000]

I'm big fan of this person...no matter..whatever the world say's about him...but he looks always cool and smiling

 

[Fracker]

I'm big fan of this person...no matter..whatever the world say's about him...but he looks always cool and smiling

Big Sign of "Beghairti"

 

[khurasaan1]

I'm big fan of this person...no matter..whatever the world say's about him...but he looks always cool and smiling

Will u want him to be ure president or prime Minister...??????

 

[laiqs@mi]

Jaisey log wesey hukamran.......
it means we deserve such rulers ....
ALLAH ham par reham farmaye

 

[hellofriends]

Will u want him to be ure president or prime Minister...??????

our president can't be foreigner.

 

[Haywards 5000]

Will u want him to be ure president or prime Minister...??????

Ya nature wise i would like to be him as president or prime Minister.....
he is the unique personality in whole Pakistan...whole pakistan make fun of him....but he never argued about it...Now i came to know y banazir had chosen him...

 

[mughaljee]

Mr Zardari Presiden of Pakistan , there is no single man in his cabinet who suggest , sir this is not good time for UK Visit, he is doing wrong & wrong & wrong and all his cabinet is shouting in full swing , he is right , he is right.
what is this,
no body saying wrong is wrong sir.
I am sad.

 

[True_Pakistan_Zindabad]

Ya nature wise i would like to be him as president or prime Minister.....
he is the unique personality in whole Pakistan...whole pakistan make fun of him....but he never argued about it...Now i came to know y banazir had chosen him...

He was about to criminalize any joke making or criticism of him. I think he actually had but no one cared to follow such a stupid law. Abusing Zardari has become a national institution.

 

[Nav]

Well zardari changed us very much .. He is trying to convert Pakistan In Fakeeristan,
CNG was Rs.30/kg Now its 55.
Sugar Was 27 nw 67.
Rice Rs.40/kg now 120.
When u recharge mobile Card they deducted 15 Rs. B4 it was 9.
Many More things
electricity bills are Raised 13 Rs /unit with 12 hour of loadshading.