His Excellency Mr. Asif Ali Zardari

Asif Ali Zardari was born on 26 July 1955 to a Baloch family from Sindh province.
Mr. Zardari received his secondary education at Cadet College Petaro. He further pursued his education in London where he studied Business.
He was married to Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in 1987 who was Prime Minister of Pakistan twice (1988-90 and 1993-96). Ms. Bhutto was assassinated in an attack in Rawalpindi on 27 December 2007. They have three children, Bilawal, Bakhtawar, and Asifa.
Mr. Zardari's political career spans two decades. He served as a Member of the National Assembly twice (1990-1993 and 1993-1996), as Federal Minister for Environment (1993-1996), and as Federal Minister for Investment (1995-1996). In 1997, he was elected Senator and served in that capacity until the dissolution of the Senate in 1999.

During this period, he helped formulate policies that expanded media freedom and access, revolutionized telecommunications, and opened Pakistan for foreign direct investment.

During Ms. Bhutto's first term in office, Mr. Zardari initiated broadcasting rights to CNN and BBC in Pakistan and introduced mobile telephone services nationwide. During her second term, Mr. Zardari was a principal architect in efforts to transform Pakistans power sector by encouraging major investment through independent power producers (IPPs). He was also a key initiator of the Iran-Pakistan natural gas pipeline project besides encouraging the introduction of FM radio in the private sector.

Following the 1990 elections, Mr. Zardari was wrongly implicated on a request by the then Government of Pakistan made under Mutual Assistance. In 2008, the case was closed after citing there was no evidence to bring Mr. Zardari to trial. In 1996, after a change of government, Mr. Zardari was again arrested. From 1997 to 2004, Mr. Zardari was unjustly imprisoned on various corruption charges for 11 years without any charges proven against him.

After the assassination of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Mr. Zardari was asked by the Central Executive Committee of the PPP to serve as Chairman of the Party. Although he was elected unopposed, he nominated his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for that role and volunteered to serve the Party as its Co-Chairman.

In 2008, Mr. Zardari was elected President of Pakistan. Under President Zardari, the PPP's candidate Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani was unanimously elected Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Mr. Zardari also spearheaded the election of Dr. Fehmida Mirza as the first female Speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly and continues to support the empowerment of women and minorities in all government policy making.

political Party he leads (the PPP) has formed coalition governments at the centre, three out of four federating units and in Gilgit-Baltistan.


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Pakistani Politicians

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was born on January 5, 1928. He was the only son of Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto completed his early education from Bombay's Cathedral High School. In 1947, he joined the University of Southern California, and later the University of California at Berkeley in June 1949. After completing his degree with honors in Political Science at Berkeley in June 1950, he was admitted to Oxford.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto married Nusrat Isphahani on September 8, 1951. He was called to Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1953, and the same year his first child, Benazir Bhutto, was born on June 21. On his return to Pakistan, Bhutto started practicing Law at Dingomal's.

In 1958, he joined President Iskander Mirza's Cabinet as Commerce Minister. He was the youngest Minister in Ayub Khans Cabinet. In 1963, he took over the post of Foreign Minister from Muhammad Ali Bogra.

His first major achievement was to conclude the Sino-Pakistan boundary agreement on March 2, 1963. In mid 1964, Bhutto helped convince Ayub of the wisdom of establishing closer economic and diplomatic links with Turkey and Iran. The trio later on formed the R. C. D. In June 1966, Bhutto left Ayub's Cabinet over differences concerning the Tashkent Agreement.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto launched Pakistan Peoples Party after leaving Ayub's Cabinet. In the general elections held in December 1970, P. P. P. won a large majority in West Pakistan but failed to reach an agreement with Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman, the majority winner from East Pakistan. Following the 1971 War and the separation of East Pakistan, Yahya Khan resigned and Bhutto took over as President and Chief Martial Law Administrator on December 20, 1971.

In early 1972, Bhutto nationalized ten categories of major industries, and withdrew Pakistan from the Commonwealth of Nations and S. E. A. T. O. when Britain and other western countries recognized the new state of Bangladesh. On March 1, he introduced land reforms, and on July 2, 1972, signed the Simla Agreement with India, which paved the way for the return of occupied lands and the release of Pakistani prisoners captured in East Pakistan in the 1971 war.

After the National Assembly passed the 1973 Constitution, Bhutto was sworn-in as the Prime Minister of the country.

On December 30, 1973, Bhutto laid the foundation of Pakistan's first steel mill at Pipri, near Karachi. On January 1, 1974, Bhutto nationalized all banks. On February 22, 1974, the second Islamic Summit was inaugurated in Lahore. Heads of States of most of the 38 Islamic countries attended the Summit.

Following a political crisis in the country, Bhutto was imprisoned by General Zia-ul-Haq, who imposed Martial Law on July 5, 1977.

On April 4, 1979, the former Prime Minister was hanged, after the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence passed by the Lahore High Court. The High Court had given him the death sentence on charges of murder of the father of a dissident P. P. P. politician.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was buried in his ancestral village at Garhi Khuda Baksh, next to his father's grave