Asif Ali Zardari is one of the most consequential and polarizing figures in modern Pakistani politics. As the current President of Pakistan and the widower of two-time Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, he occupies a singular position in the country’s history, having served as head of state in two separate eras nearly two decades apart. From a businessman married into the Bhutto political dynasty to the co-chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party and now a two-time president, his career has been defined by survival, reinvention, and controversy in equal measure.
Known for navigating some of the most turbulent chapters in Pakistani political history, including years of imprisonment, allegations of corruption, and the assassination of his wife, Zardari has remained a central figure in national politics for nearly four decades. As father to PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and First Lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, he also stands at the head of a political family that continues to shape Pakistan’s future.
Asif Ali Zardari: Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Asif Ali Zardari |
| Date of Birth | 26 July 1955 |
| Birthplace | Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan |
| Age (2026) | 70 years old |
| Nationality | Pakistani |
| Religion | Islam |
| Ethnicity | Baloch family from Sindh |
| Education | Karachi Grammar School, Cadet College Petaro, studies in London |
| Political Party | Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) |
| Current Role | 14th President of Pakistan (since 10 March 2024) |
| Previous Role | 11th President of Pakistan (2008 to 2013) |
| Spouse | Benazir Bhutto, married 1987, passed away 2007 |
| Children | Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, Aseefa Bhutto Zardari |
| Father | Hakim Ali Zardari |
| Known For | Husband of Benazir Bhutto, two presidential terms, PPP leadership |
Who Is Asif Ali Zardari?
Asif Ali Zardari is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th President of Pakistan, a role he assumed on 10 March 2024. He previously served as the country’s 11th president from 2008 to 2013, making him one of only a handful of Pakistani leaders to hold the office twice. He is the co-founder of the modern PPP leadership structure alongside his son and currently serves as President of the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians.
His public identity is inseparable from his marriage to Benazir Bhutto, the first woman to lead a Muslim-majority nation as Prime Minister. Following her assassination in 2007, Zardari stepped into the leadership vacuum left in the PPP and went on to win the presidency the following year. His legacy remains divisive, with political observers split on how to assess his decades in public life.
Early Life and Family Background
Asif Ali Zardari was born on 26 July 1955 to a Baloch family from Sindh province. His father, Hakim Ali Zardari, was a businessman and politician from the Zardari tribe, which had longstanding landholding and political interests in Sindh. Growing up in Karachi, Zardari was raised in a family already connected to provincial business and political circles, giving him an early exposure to both commerce and public life.
Before entering politics directly, Zardari was primarily known as a businessman, and his marriage into the Bhutto family in 1987 would permanently alter the trajectory of his life and career, thrusting him from the periphery of Sindhi business circles into the center of national politics.
Education
Zardari received his early education at Karachi Grammar School before attending Cadet College Petaro, one of Pakistan’s well known military preparatory institutions. He later pursued further education in London. His educational background reflects the elite schooling typical of Pakistan’s landed and business families of that generation, blending local institutions with international exposure.
Marriage to Benazir Bhutto and Entry into Politics
In 1987, Asif Ali Zardari married Benazir Bhutto, the daughter of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The marriage was widely reported as an arranged match, but it placed Zardari at the heart of one of South Asia’s most powerful political dynasties. A year after their wedding, Benazir Bhutto made history by becoming the first woman to lead a Muslim majority country, serving as Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996.
During this period, Zardari held several government positions. He served as a Member of the National Assembly from 1990 to 1993 and again from 1993 to 1996, as Federal Minister for Environment from 1993 to 1996, and as Federal Minister for Investment from 1995 to 1996. In 1997, he was elected to the Senate of Pakistan, a position he held until the Senate was dissolved in 1999 following General Pervez Musharraf’s military takeover.
The “Mr. Ten Percent” Years and Imprisonment
It was during Benazir Bhutto’s two terms as Prime Minister that Zardari earned the nickname “Mr. Ten Percent,” a reference to corruption allegations claiming he took kickbacks on government contracts. These allegations followed him for decades and became a central feature of his public reputation, even as many of the cases against him were ultimately contested in court or failed to result in convictions.
Zardari spent extended periods in detention through the 1990s and early 2000s on charges ranging from corruption to more serious accusations, several of which he and his supporters characterized as politically motivated. He was eventually released and went into a period of self imposed exile, living primarily in Dubai before returning to Pakistan in the mid 2000s as political conditions shifted.
The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto
On 27 December 2007, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a gun and bomb attack following a campaign rally in Rawalpindi, an event that sent shockwaves through Pakistan and the wider world. Her death thrust Zardari into the leadership of the PPP almost overnight. Rather than taking sole control, he positioned his teenage son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as the symbolic chairman of the party, with himself serving as co-chairperson, a structure designed to preserve the Bhutto name at the head of the party while Zardari managed its day to day political operations.
First Presidency: 2008 to 2013
Following the PPP’s victory in the 2008 general election and the formation of a coalition government under Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, Zardari was elected the 11th President of Pakistan in September 2008. As President, he voluntarily transferred several key constitutional powers from the presidency to the elected parliament, a move embodied in the historic 18th Constitutional Amendment, which was passed unanimously by parliament. This amendment significantly reduced the discretionary powers of the presidency that had been concentrated under previous military and civilian rulers, shifting Pakistan toward a more parliamentary system of governance.
His tenure was also notable for being the first time in Pakistan’s history that both the parliament and the president completed their full constitutional terms without interruption from a military coup or forced dissolution. He was succeeded by Mamnoon Hussain in 2013 after his term concluded.
Post-Presidency Years and PPP Leadership
After leaving the presidency in 2013, Zardari remained the dominant figure within the PPP, formally becoming President of the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians from December 2015 onward. Through this period, he continued to face legal scrutiny, including cases brought by Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau related to alleged money laundering and unexplained assets, often referred to collectively in Pakistani media as the fake bank accounts case. He spent further time in custody during these proceedings before being granted bail.
Despite the legal battles, Zardari remained the PPP’s chief strategist through the 2010s and early 2020s, frequently serving as the party’s key negotiator in coalition politics, including during the 2022 parliamentary developments that saw a change of government in Islamabad.
Second Presidency: 2024 to Present
Following the 2024 general election and the formation of a coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Zardari was elected the 14th President of Pakistan, securing the position with a decisive majority in the presidential electoral college. He took the oath of office on 10 March 2024, becoming only the second person in Pakistan’s history to serve as president on two separate occasions.
In his second term, Zardari has continued to act largely within the ceremonial and ratifying role established by the 18th Amendment that he himself helped create during his first presidency, while remaining the PPP’s central power broker behind the scenes of the ruling coalition.
Personal Life and Family
Asif Ali Zardari and Benazir Bhutto had three children together. Their eldest, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, has gone on to chair the Pakistan Peoples Party and serve in senior federal roles, while their daughters, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari and Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, have built their own public profiles. Aseefa Bhutto Zardari currently serves as First Lady of Pakistan, a role she assumed in March 2024, and has also been elected to the National Assembly representing the family’s traditional Nawabshah constituency. President of PakistanWikipedia
Following Benazir Bhutto’s assassination in 2007, Zardari did not remarry, and he has continued to be closely associated with raising and mentoring his children’s political careers, particularly guiding Bilawal’s rise as PPP chairman and eventual Foreign Minister of Pakistan.
Legacy
Asif Ali Zardari’s legacy is shaped by contradictions that continue to divide political commentators in Pakistan. To his supporters, he is the architect of the 18th Amendment, a leader who voluntarily diluted presidential power to strengthen parliamentary democracy, and the man who held Pakistan’s fragile coalition government together through a complete constitutional term for the first time in the country’s history. To his critics, he remains a symbol of the corruption allegations that have followed him since the 1990s, with the “Mr. Ten Percent” label never fully disappearing from public discourse despite the absence of final convictions in many of the cases against him.
What is not disputed is his political durability. Few figures in Pakistani history have survived imprisonment, exile, the assassination of a spouse, and decades of legal battles to return to the country’s highest office not once but twice.
Asif Ali Zardari in 2026
As of mid 2026, Zardari continues to serve as President of Pakistan alongside Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, regularly issuing statements on national and international developments, including messages on regional diplomacy and global affairs. He remains the PPP’s senior statesman, working closely with his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and daughter Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, who serves as First Lady, as the family continues to play a central role in Pakistan’s coalition government.
Career Timeline
| Year | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Marriage to Benazir Bhutto | Entered national political life |
| 1990 to 1996 | Member of National Assembly | Two separate terms |
| 1993 to 1996 | Federal Minister for Environment | Under PM Benazir Bhutto |
| 1995 to 1996 | Federal Minister for Investment | Under PM Benazir Bhutto |
| 1997 to 1999 | Member of the Senate | Senate dissolved in 1999 |
| 2007 | Co-Chairperson, PPP | After Benazir Bhutto’s assassination |
| 2008 to 2013 | 11th President of Pakistan | Passed the 18th Amendment |
| 2015 to present | President, PPP Parliamentarians | Senior party leadership role |
| 2024 to present | 14th President of Pakistan | Second presidential term |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Asif Ali Zardari?
Asif Ali Zardari is a Pakistani politician who currently serves as the 14th President of Pakistan, having taken office in March 2024. He previously served as the 11th president from 2008 to 2013 and is the widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
How old is Asif Ali Zardari in 2026?
He was born on 26 July 1955, making him 70 years old as of mid 2026.
Who was Asif Ali Zardari’s wife?
He was married to Benazir Bhutto, the first female Prime Minister of a Muslim majority nation, from 1987 until her assassination in 2007.
Who are Asif Ali Zardari’s children?
He has three children with Benazir Bhutto: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the chairman of the PPP, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, and Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, the current First Lady of Pakistan.
Why was Asif Ali Zardari called Mr. Ten Percent?
The nickname stems from corruption allegations dating back to the 1990s, claiming he took kickbacks on government contracts during Benazir Bhutto’s terms as Prime Minister. The label has remained attached to him in public discourse for decades.
What is Asif Ali Zardari’s biggest political achievement?
Many analysts point to the 18th Constitutional Amendment, passed during his first presidency, which transferred significant presidential powers to parliament and is credited with strengthening Pakistan’s parliamentary democracy.
Has Asif Ali Zardari served as president more than once?
Yes. He served as the 11th President of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013, and is currently serving as the 14th President since March 2024, making him one of the few Pakistani leaders to hold the office twice.
