Asif Ali Zardari elected the new President of Pakistan, sentenced to 11 years in jail; This is why he got the name ‘Mr 10 Percent’
Asif Ali Zardari was elected the new President of Pakistan. He has spent more than 11 years in jail due to scams, which is a long time even by the standards of Pakistani politicians. Despite all this he will hold a largely ceremonial post in his second term. Earlier he had held this post from 2008 to 2013. Zardari got 255 votes in Parliament.
Asif Ali Zardari, widower of Pakistan’s late first woman Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was elected President of the country for the second time on Saturday. Zardari was accused of corruption and absurd conspiracies of kidnapping and taking bribes on lots of jewellery, among other charges. However, despite all this he will hold a largely ceremonial post in his second term.
In 2007, Zardari’s wife was assassinated in a bomb and gun attack. Between 2008 and 2013, he initiated constitutional reforms in his presidency. He has spent more than 11 years in jail due to scams, which is a long time even by the standards of Pakistani politicians.
President elected after these conditions
The newly-sworn national and provincial MPs and senators voted for him under the terms of the coalition agreement reached after the February 8 elections amid claims of rigging. Under the agreement, Zardari was declared president while historical rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party handed over the post of prime minister to Shehbaz Sharif, who took the official oath on Monday.
Was given the name of ‘Mr 10 Percent’
Zardari was born in 1955 in the southern province of Sindh. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper in 2000, he said that as a child, my parents, as the only son, spoiled me completely. He fulfilled my every wish.
Asif Zardari is known as Mr. Ten (10) Percent because he is accused of demanding 10% as bribe for government contracts.
Was Zardari a playboy?
Her arranged marriage to PPP leader Bhutto in 1987, after she lost the 1983 local government elections, brought her into the political spotlight. Bhutto was a graduate of Oxford and Harvard. Zardari, meanwhile, was a university dropout and was known for feuding, partying and romancing women in discos. For these reasons he was also called Playboy. However, after the wedding, Bhutto’s team issued a formal statement denying that he was a playboy who played polo during the day and frequented discos at night.
When Zardari started surrounded by allegations
Bhutto held the position as Prime Minister from 1988 to 1990 and then became the country’s PM from 1993 to 1996. She was the first woman to lead a democratic government in a Muslim country. Meanwhile, Zardari was jailed for three years on charges of extortion and kidnapping, but was elected to the National Assembly from behind bars. In Bhutto’s second term, he served as the Minister of Investment. After the fall of Bhutto’s government in 1996, Zardari was back behind bars within half an hour.
Wife’s murder made Zardari the President of the country
In December 2007, Bhutto was assassinated while she was campaigning for a third term as prime minister. His murder shook the country to its core. A wave of sympathy led the PPP to victory in 2008. The party nominated Zardari as president. In 2010, as the country was being devastated by floods, Zardari was widely criticized. About 1,800 people were killed and 21 million people were affected in this flood.
life spent in jail
He was also the head of state when American commandos infiltrated Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden in 2011. In 2013, Zardari became the first Pakistani President to complete his full term. In 2019, he was jailed once again on money laundering charges, but was released months later. Zardari and Benazir had three children, including current PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
