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?
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.