Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) co-chairman and an experienced politician who has demonstrated his mettle on numerous critical occasions for democracy and national politics, has been elected president for the second time.
Zardari is well-known among Pakistan’s top politicians for his reconciliatory tactics and for his ability to outmanoeuvre his political opponents. He has also demonstrated exceptional negotiation skills with political opponents.
Following the killing of PPP chairwoman and wife Benazir Bhutto 17 years ago, Zardari coined the slogan “Pakistan Khapay” — a Sindhi word that means “We Want Pakistan” — and arranged a new political model for the party based on tolerance, unity, and reconciliation.
During his tenure as Pakistan’s 11th president, from 2008 to 2013, with the PPP in power at the center, Zardari played a critical role in restoring the 1973 Constitution’s original structure.
The politician also dissolved a much-criticised sub-section 2(b) inserted into Article 58 of the Constitution under the “Eighth Amendment” by military ruler General Zia-ul-Haq in 1985 to maintain a tight grip on power by granting the president additional powers to dissolve the National Assembly, thereby elevating the head of state above the Prime Minister.
