Former President Asif Ali Zardari served a legal notice of Rs1 billion to chairman of Hashoo Group, Sadrudin Hashwani on his book The Truth Always Prevails, allowing the book to fly off the shelves, lending even more credence to the long tale of Zardari corruption. Asif Ali Zardari is asking for Rs 500 million in damages due to loss of reputation and another Rs 500 million for “mental agony”. Strange that it took so long for Mr Zardari to feel that his image had been tarnished. The story has a tabloid feel and lends itself so well to sensationalism, but the roots of the Hashwani-Zardari enmity are scary and serious. Mr Hashwani writes that the 2008 Marriott bombing during the PPP’s last tenure in government was not carried out by Taliban or any militant group, but was politically motivated and aimed at killing him. Zardari at the time claimed that the bombing was aimed at him, though there is no real record of any Presidential visit to the hotel. There is a long history of Zardari wanting to buy off Hashwani assets and it is no secret that Zardari is a wealthy man, and many of his riches come from alleged extortion.
The country has so many current traumas that questions of the corruption of the top tier of the PPP and Zardari’s dubious past, have become non-issues. Yet, this wily fox of a man was allowed to preside over the destiny of 200 million people. Though Mr Hashwani is not a saint either, and has had many concessions from the state over the years, the problem remains. The leadership of the PPP and PMLN is corrupt and has been so for the past 30 years. Even if one does not sympathize with the PTI lot and their naïve buffoon of a leader, these civilian leaders have run the country like a mafia. Zardari’s past is catching up with him. This is not the first book to list his misdeeds. Raymond Baker also exposed him in his book Capitalism’s Achilles Heel. Zardari’s billion rupee reputation never really existed.