Its the Pakistani people who disgrace themselves by electing these people,everyone looking from the outside think we are a banana republic,It is embarassing
What do you mean, everyone from outside think that we are banana republic? Dude Pakistani people proved it that we are banana republic, there is no boubt about it. We are the most disgraced nation on earth right at a moment. I don't belive nor i want to be know that we are bettter then that. Look what world is writing and saying about is like We are bunch of stupid morans who like all the crimnals. check this out.
Pakistan's Asif Ali Zardari, husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, known as "Mr. Ten Percent" for his long trail of kickbacks and corruption.
John Moore/Getty ImagesMiddle East Issues Ads
Pakistan
Benazir Bhutto
Pervez Musharraf
Musharaf Report
Musharaf Update
Why Asif Ali Zardari Matters:
Zardari is the husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who was twice prime minister of Pakistan and was likely to be elected to the post a third time in 2007 when she was assassinated.
In August 2008, Bhuttos Pakistan Peoples Party named Zardari for president. The election was scheduled for Sept. 6. Zardaris past, like Bhuttos, is riddled with charges of corruption. He is known as Mr. 10 Percent, a reference to kickbacks believed to have enriched him and his late wife to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Hes never been convicted on any of the charges but served a total of 11 years in prison.
Asif Ali Zardaris Early Life and Family:
Zardari was born on July 21, 1956, the son of Pakistani politician Hakim Ali Zardari, a Sindhi tribal leader who opted for urban life and grew fantastically wealthy from it. Asif Ali Zardari had a privileged childhood, attending Saint Patrick's High School in Karachi, the same school that former Pakistani President Pervez Musharrafa Bhutto family rivalattended.
Zardari then attended the London School of Economics. Thanks to his fathers wealth, Zardari had a private disco in his own home and became known as a polo-playing playboy who called his ponies the Zardari Four. Zardari is a diabetic.
An Arranged Marriage of Convenience With Benazir Bhutto:
Zardari married Benazir Bhutto on Dec. 18, 1987. The marriage was arranged by the two families, with Bhuttos mother picking out Zardari for her daughter. Bhutto and Zardari had met only five days before the wedding, though marriage negotiations took almost six months.
Had it not been for "the political ramifications of every step I take," Bhutto said at the time, "then perhaps this would not have been an arranged marriage, but, in the circumstances, it seemed the only course." Zardari kept to a few words: I have no interest in politics, an early but characteristic untruth. The couple had three children.
Zardari Charged With Attempted Murder and Extortion:
It wasnt long before Zardari faced his first arrestan attempted-murder and extortion charge in 1990 stemming from an alleged plot that April. Zadari and accomplice Ghulam Hussain Unar. Unar and Zardari allegedly strapped a remote-controlled bomb to the leg of Pakistani-born British businessman Murtaza Hussain Bukhari, who was discussing plans to build a hospital in Pakistan, and forced him to cash $800,000 in checks.
Zardari was imprisoned. He contested the charges, calling them politically motivated. Bhutto was prime minister at the time but was ousted in October 1990.
From Prison to Finance Minister to Second Murder Charge:
A special court acquitted Zardari of bank fraud and conspiracy to murder charges. He was released in February 1993. When Zardaris wife became prime minister again months later, she named him finance ministera post that did not exist. The couple built a $50 million prime ministers residence" on 110 acres on an Islamabad hilltop.
Zardari also acquired the 365-acre, $8 million Rockwood Estate in Surrey, England, and a $4 million estate in Palm Beach County, Florida. Cases of Zardari and Bhutto corruption piled up fast during her second tenure as prime minister.
A Laundry List of Corruption Allegations:
Charges and allegations included:
Zardari buying almost $1 million worth of jewelry through a Swiss bank account and an American Express card.
Zardari taking kickbacks from a Dubai gold trader.
French military contractor Dassault Aviation agreeing to pay Zardari $200 million in exchange for a $4 billion jet fighter deal with Pakistan. (The deal fell apart when Bhutto was booted out of government.)
In 1996, Zardari was arrested again and charged with murdering his wifes brother.
Zardari was imprisoned. Pakistans president dismissed Bhutto for corruption. Zardari was in prison until 2004.
The government claimed Bhutto and Zardari siphoned $1.5 billion in public money during Bhuttos second term. None of the charges stuck, though Pakistan is still, according to The New Yorker's Steve Coll, looking into more than $54 million allegedly stashed in Swiss bank accounts by the Bhutto family. Investigators, Coll writes, are also "looking into companies involved in Iraq's oil-for-food program, under Saddam Hussein, from which Bhutto allegedly benefited."
From Manhattans Upper East Side Back to Politics Again:
Zardari won his release from prison after his wifes Pakistan Peoples Party negotiated a deal with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Zardari moved to Manhattans wealthy Upper East Side, where he lived for three years.
Following his wifes assassination, Zardari claimed her will named him as her successor to the leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party. Zardari asked his son, Bilawal, to be the party chairman, though Zardari clearly intended to wield the power. On Aug. 22, the PPP nominated him for the Pakistani presidency vacated by Musharraf earlier that week. The election was set for Sept. 6.
.
