Asif Ali Zardari: Difference between revisions
Clean up |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 43: | Line 43: | ||
It is also reported that Asif Zardari has connections with drug mafias in Pakistan namely Shahid and Aman two drug peddlars who now owns huge businesses in Karachi |
It is also reported that Asif Zardari has connections with drug mafias in Pakistan namely Shahid and Aman two drug peddlars who now owns huge businesses in Karachi |
||
Zardari is currently living in [[Manhattan]] but also has a home in [[Dubai]]. He is suffering from [[diabetes]],{{Fact|date=December 2007}} a spinal ailment,{{Fact|date=December 2007}} and [[heart attack|heart troubles]] |
Zardari is currently living in [[Manhattan]] but also has a home in [[Dubai]]. He is suffering from [[diabetes]],{{Fact|date=December 2007}} a spinal ailment,{{Fact|date=December 2007}} and [[heart attack|heart troubles]]. |
||
In August 2004, Zardari finally admitted owning a £4.35m estate in [[Surrey]], [[England]] (including a 20-room mansion and two farms on 365 acres, or 1.5 km², of land), which the Pakistani authorities allege was bought with the proceeds of corruption. He and his family had long denied ownership of such property in the [[United Kingdom]]. Legal proceedings brought by the Government of Pakistan against Zardari to recover the sale proceeds of the property are continuing before the [[High Court of Justice]] of [[England]] and [[Wales]]. In October 2006, the court dismissed Zardari's application to halt the proceedings on the basis that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case. As of late 2007, Zardari is seeking permission to appeal that decision. |
In August 2004, Zardari finally admitted owning a £4.35m estate in [[Surrey]], [[England]] (including a 20-room mansion and two farms on 365 acres, or 1.5 km², of land), which the Pakistani authorities allege was bought with the proceeds of corruption. He and his family had long denied ownership of such property in the [[United Kingdom]]. Legal proceedings brought by the Government of Pakistan against Zardari to recover the sale proceeds of the property are continuing before the [[High Court of Justice]] of [[England]] and [[Wales]]. In October 2006, the court dismissed Zardari's application to halt the proceedings on the basis that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case. As of late 2007, Zardari is seeking permission to appeal that decision. |
||
Revision as of 22:19, 3 January 2008
 | This article may be affected by the following current event: Benazir Bhutto assassination. Information in this article may change rapidly as the event progresses. Initial news reports may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (December 2007) |
 |
Asif Ali Zardari آصف علی زرداری | |
|---|---|
| File:AsifAliZardari.jpg | |
| Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party | |
| Assumed office 30 December 2007 Serving with Bilawal Bhutto Zardari | |
| Preceded by | Benazir Bhutto |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 June 1956 Nawabshah, Pakistan |
| Political party | Pakistan Peoples Party |
| Spouse | Benazir Bhutto (d. 2007) |
| Children | Bilawal Bhutto Zardari |
| Website | PPP website |
Asif Ali Zardari (Urdu: آصف علی زرداری) (Sindhi: آصف علي زرداري) (born 21 July 1956) is the son of a famous Pakistani industrialist Hakim Ali Zardari the chief of the Zardari tribe and the widower of the late former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, whom he married on 18 December 1987. They had three children: Bilawal, Bakhtwar and Asifa.
He served as a member of the National Assembly, and as Environment Minister during the second term of his wife's premiership. His last position in the government of Pakistan was as a senator until 1999 when the senate and assemblies were dissolved by Gen. Pervez Musharraf who took over the reins of the government in a coup against the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
In 1990, Zardari was arrested on charges of blackmail, based on allegations that he attached a bomb to a Pakistani businessman, Murtaza Bukhari, and forced him to withdraw money from his bank account.[1] However, the charges were dropped when he was released from prison in 1993 when his wife's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) took power and forced the charges out.
Zardari was made the Environment Minister during Bhutto's tenure. During the final days of his late wife’s second premiership, just before her government was dissolved by the then president, Farooq Leghari, his brother in law Murtaza Bhutto was assassinated. He was subsequently arrested on murder charges in 1996. Again establishment pressure prevented a full investigation.
He was kept in custody from 1997 to 2004 on charges ranging from corruption to murder. He was granted bail and released in November 2004 when a judge said the cases were all false, although allegations of pressure on the judge have also been made.[2] However, he was re-arrested on 21 December 2004 after his failure to attend a hearing in a murder trial in Karachi. He was charged with conspiracy in the 1996 killing of a judge and his son. These charges coincided with his plans to launch massive protests in the country. It is also reported that Asif Zardari has connections with drug mafias in Pakistan namely Shahid and Aman two drug peddlars who now owns huge businesses in Karachi
Zardari is currently living in Manhattan but also has a home in Dubai. He is suffering from diabetes,[citation needed] a spinal ailment,[citation needed] and heart troubles.
In August 2004, Zardari finally admitted owning a £4.35m estate in Surrey, England (including a 20-room mansion and two farms on 365 acres, or 1.5 km², of land), which the Pakistani authorities allege was bought with the proceeds of corruption. He and his family had long denied ownership of such property in the United Kingdom. Legal proceedings brought by the Government of Pakistan against Zardari to recover the sale proceeds of the property are continuing before the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. In October 2006, the court dismissed Zardari's application to halt the proceedings on the basis that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case. As of late 2007, Zardari is seeking permission to appeal that decision.
Zardari has spent a total of 11 years in prison. He says that the charges are politically motivated. Throughout this time Zardari's lawyer has been Farooq H. Naek who has played a major role in his release.
A Swiss investigating magistrate has amassed enough evidence, including the purchase of a diamond necklace, to indict Pakistan's former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto and husband on money-laundering charges tied to contracts with two Geneva-based companies. The magistrate, Daniel Devaud, decided not to bring the charges against Ms. Bhutto in Switzerland, but rather to ask Pakistani authorities to indict her. The Geneva magistrate has been conducting a wide-ranging inquiry seeking to account for more than $13.7 million frozen by Swiss authorities in 2006. The money was allegedly stashed in Swiss banks.[3]
Co-Chairman of PPP
On 30 December 2007 he was selected to co-chairman the PPP with his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.[4]
References
