Pakistan’s ‘Mr. 10 Percent’ runs for president

SAMEED QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images To nobody’s surprise, the Pakistan People’s Party has settled on Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto’s widower, as its presidential candidate. He is the party’s cochairman. The country will be holding an election — in which only lawmakers can vote — to chose Pervez Musharraf’s successor on Sept. 6. If you aren’t familiar ...

By , a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.
593053_080822_zardari5.jpg
593053_080822_zardari5.jpg

SAMEED QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images

SAMEED QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images

To nobody’s surprise, the Pakistan People’s Party has settled on Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto’s widower, as its presidential candidate. He is the party’s cochairman.

The country will be holding an election — in which only lawmakers can vote — to chose Pervez Musharraf’s successor on Sept. 6.

If you aren’t familiar with the sordid background of Zardari (a.k.a. “Mr. 10 Percent”), you should check out this 1998 article by John Burns of the New York Times. He’s a real prince, this one.

Blake Hounshell is a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.

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