Profile: Asif Ali Zardari

By Syed Shoaib Hasan
BBC News

Asif Ali Zardari's nomination as the head of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) following the assassination of his wife, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, has caught some observers by surprise.

Mr Zardari has remained loyal to Ms Bhutto's party, the PPP

But many others say they anticipated the move.

Though Mr Zardari has turned down the offer and passed on the mantle to Bilawal, the couple's eldest child, he will be the one actually in charge.

This is a complete turnaround from his place in the party before Ms Bhutto's death.

Ms Bhutto had announced that her husband would not be participate in the upcoming elections.

Prison sentences

Mr Zardari had been seen as a politically liability for the PPP.

He spent several years in jail on charges of corruption. He was labelled "Mr 10%".

When arrested the first time, in 1990, he was accused of tying a remote-controlled bomb to the leg of a UK-based Pakistani businessman, Murtaza Bukhari, and sending him into a bank to withdraw money from his account as a pay-off.

However, he was whisked out of prison to be made a minister after the PPP regained power in 1993.

In 1996, he was arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance but was soon charged with the murder of Mir Murtaza Bhutto, his wife's brother.

He was later charged, along with his wife, and convicted in a kickbacks scam involving a Swiss company, SGS.

But a mistrial was declared by Pakistan's supreme court following a major scandal involving the accountability bureau and the judge who had issued the verdict.

Even at the best of times, Pakistan's judiciary does not have a reputation for acting independently of the government when it comes to high-profile cases, especially of a political nature.

His last prison sentence lasted eight years until 2004, following negotiations between the PPP and the government of then General Pervez Musharraf.

'Personal bravery'

Mr Zardari has resolutely stood by his party as well as his wife - although at times he disagreed with the politics of both.

But his friends say this was entirely in character and they point to his personal courage.

A close friend recounts an incident in the 1980s when he was still a polo-playing and horse-riding bachelor:

"We were on a cross-country ride in Karachi when one of our company, the daughter of a German diplomat, fell into a bog with her horse.

"There were 40 of us. We all stood around stunned except for this one man, Asif Ali Zardari, who jumped in and pulled out the girl and then the horse as well.

"During all this time, he could have drowned at any time himself."

'Fall guy'

Asif Ali Khan Zardari was born and bred in Karachi to Hakim Ali Zardari, head of one of the "lesser" Sindhi tribes, who chose the urban life over rustic surroundings.

Asif grew up in Karachi and did most of his schooling at St Patrick's School - ironically also the alma mater of President Musharraf.

His father did relatively well, and the young Zardari's main claim to fame was that he had a private disco at home.

This led to the development of his reputation as a "playboy".

When he married Benazir, the icon of the anti-establishment cause in Pakistan, he became "the designated fall guy", a close family friend says.

"Zardari knew this and accepted it," the friend adds.

"He walked into the marriage knowing it would always be about her, and never about him."

Family first

After his release from prison in 2004, Mr Zardari kept a low profile, undergoing medical treatment in the US.

He suffers from diabetes and a spinal ailment which prevents him from moving around without the help of a walking stick.

He also worked to re-establish his relationship with his children after years of separation.

Party-watchers say Mr Zardari and Ms Bhutto's marriage had become one of convenience.

"They were living their separate lives, but both made sure to keep up appearances," one close friend says.

However, Benazir appreciated her husband's loyalty, knowing that "despite his failings, he always stood by his family no matter what", one of her confidants says.