Thank you, Thank you and Thank you very much
By Asif Ali Zardari
Recently I have been in the news again. I thought it appropriate that I gave a response, but my decency requires that I should not hit below the belt as most have done in the past.
I am a democratically elected leader of the Great Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Just as a reminder to my critics that 498 members of the Senate out of a total of 500 voted for me as the President. They were the representatives of the people of Pakistan. It is a great compliment to me and rather reluctantly, I accepted the challenge to serve my great nation.
For those who want to change the rules of the game now will have to wait till the next elections when my term is over.
I have suffered at the hand of various governments in the past. My loving wife Benazir Bhutto was murdered by the political enemies. I was incarcerated in the jail for 8 long years. I was ill and suffered from innumerable diseases as I had very little medical attention. The scar left from that period still haunts me. I have nightmares and sometimes I find myself floating from Islamabad to Manhattan in USA or to an unknown Chateau in Normandy, France. These are terrible visions and I hope and pray to the Almighty that no one should suffer such ignominy.
People have been talking about my past, my childhood and my family background. Well, I am proud of all these things and I do not wish to disown my past. I am also proud to admit that I am a classic example of "rags to riches" story. Whilst there are many in Pakistan who can easily be given the same title but they shy away with embarrassment, timidity or secrecy. I am not one of them.
To clear the hot air surrounding these allegations I will take you for a joy ride into my past.
I hail from a very humble Sindhi family of farmers. My father Hakim Ali Zardari broke away from the clan and set up a small cinema in Karachi called "Bambino Cinema". It was a good start though it made no large money.
I was the most handsome guy in Sindh. My step-mother Mrs Zarina Zardari is a very shrewd and visionary lady. She suggested that I get married to this lady the daughter of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who had finished her studies at Oxford. People accuse me that I do not have a degree. Quite right! Did education matter in politics or the Army? Generals Musa Khan, Tikka Khan or Yahya Khan never had any kind of degrees. They all rose from the ranks. They all rose to high positions. Generals like Yahya Khan or Zia ul Haque became Presidents of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. I do not have to teach you about what kind of mess these people got us into. I have maintained a status quo all around. Look at the politicians like Pehlwan Nawaz Sharif, and younger Pehlwan Shahbaz Sharif who have "degrees' and what have they contributed towards the betterment of Pakistan. I digressed so I will continue about my own career.
My wife had full faith and confidence in me. When Benazir came to power in her second term she appointed me on a very sensitive assignment as The Minister of Investment. It was a tough assignment and I fulfilled my assignment with due diligence. In the process, as luck would have it I had the chance to make, as they say; "a buck or two". This was done without hurting anyone. I shared the profit element with the rich people of Pakistan; otherwise these rich people would have become super-rich.
I am a bold and honest man. I will tell you the truth and will not hide the facts like the barons of Raiwind, who continue to hide how they made their fortunes. There was this Agosta submarines and Exocet Missiles deal. I was approached by the Naval Chief at the time and suggested easy way of making large sums. Vow! I exclaimed, and said how? I was told to use the services of one Amer Lodhi (brother of Maleeha Lodhi – colloquially who has one leg in PPP and one leg in Nawaz's camp!). Amer is a lawyer and he devised the entire scheme for me "gratis" but retained certain portion for himself and Admiral Ehsanul Haque. I was the innocent man who simply made it convenient so that there were no impediments. Unfortunately, US$60 Million is still owed to me as "my commission". This NAB chap called Saifur Rehman, now in self imposed exile sits in Qatar, put a case against me and as a result these funds are still stuck in Swiss. I am just waiting for an opportune moment to go and claim these funds i.e. "my funds" – hard earned commission. By the way, according to NAB's Saifur Rehman there were 40 Accounts identified with about US$1.5Billion in them. Wrong! I had more accounts in Spain, France, USA, UK and Switzerland. The total is now three or four times the figure stated.
People have been trying to damage my reputation by calling me by the epithet "Mr. Ten Per Cent". They think I was raking off 10% on any deal that went past my eyes. So wrong!. How do they know such intimate details? Well, I will again be honest and tell you the truth. The deals that I brokered in my privileged position ranged, between 10% to 50%. I had the power to approve the deals. My nation had elected me as the President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan to do as I willed. I did exactly that. There is nothing in the Constitution that says I cannot make money. They call me "King of Thieves", "Mr Ten Per Cent" or "Zardari 100% Pure Corruption" – all these are sour grapes. Saifur Rehman had frozen 40 accounts in Switzerland, United Kingdom. He is very nasty man. This was hard earned money that he managed to block but thanks to Musharraf's NRO I have now managed to move all elsewhere. Who is going to have the last laugh?
You want to know about Rockwood Surrey Mansion. I fail to understand as to why people are interested in our Rockwood Surrey Mansion? We have the money at our disposal and we decided to splash it the way we wanted to do it i.e. in style. We bought the Mansion for over £4Million in 1994. It had 400 acres of land, 15 bedrooms. We furbished it with a beautiful Lalique Glass Dining Table which cost a small sum of £120,000. Then we had beautiful crystal Chandeliers, and Gilded furniture. It has had so much bad publicity of jealousy that I have decided to sell it and is on the market for £7.5Million (say US$11.25M).
Villa in Spain. It is a palatial Villa but I do not get a chance to go there that often.
I managed to acquire a 5 acre Chateau in Normandy, France. President Sarkozy of France on his present tour was kind enough to provide his personal helicopter to enable me to visit my father Hakim Ali Zardari in this Chateau. By the way, I always had connections. Sarkozy was then the Minister of Defence when I was negotiating a deal of Agosta submarines and Exocet Missiles. If you see the recent footage of my visit to his official residence Quai d'Orsay you would have observed that he received me with such warmth at the steps along with my son Bilawal. My Chateau is called Manoir de la Reine Blanche (Manoir of the White Queen) . It is 16th Century Chateau and was built for the widow of Phillippe the 4th. It is a feather in my cap. There is no Pakistani who owns a Chateau in France. Pakistan Zindabad!
Mansion in Manhattan, New York, USA
As regards the politicians in Pakistan I decided to choose these people; Salman Taseer, Zulfiqar Mirza, Qayyum Soomro, Rehman Malik, Farhatullah Babar, Babar Awan, Aitzaz Ahsan, Amin Faheem, Salman Siddique, Raza Rabbani and interalia many others. There is an old saying "Every dog has its price". They are my pedigree dogs and I use them at will. They are hungry for money all the time. I just need to throw crumbs at them to keep them satisfied. Do you see them bark at all? Take for example Aitzaz Ahsan, a barrister and a Cambridge graduate. What has he contributed to democracy and well being in Pakistan. I have hired Aitzaz Ahsan and Babar Awan to protect me. They are my ramparts. They know that if they turn away and oppose me in any form I will have their backside kicked. That will put a stop to their steady and regular income from me, which makes up to millions of Rupees on a regular basis. Like Faustus, they have sold their souls to the devil! That is the way to operate and you must give me full credit for my method of operation.
As regards the question of a Degree to become eligible to be a member of the Senate, well I am told that half the members at present Senate have fake degrees. In December a study by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Assembly and Transparency reveals that the average net worth of a Pakistani parliamentarian is US$900,000 and the richest tops US$37M. So much for the parliamentarians with DEGREES. At least I confess I do not have a degree but I have done well. I had nothing and I am a billionaire three times over. Not bad!
My European Visit was planned well ahead. I had to visit France which was also convenient for me to see my Dad. I wanted re-establish my old contacts with Sarkozy. What people forget is that all these trips abroad by the Head of State are paid for by the Government. I cannot change the rules. I was not wasting government's money. To maintain the dignity of the Head of State, one had to stay in a £7,000 suite, which was a bargain. It is slightly cheaper than what the Rulers of Middle Eastern countries pay.
Visit to UK was essential. I had to meet PM David Cameron to clear the air regarding his statement in India on Pakistan and Terrorism in Pakistan.
I had also planned to induct my son Bilawal to the PPP as heir apparent. I want to give up politics and I plan to get him become the Head of PPP. This visit had been planned by The High Commissioner and he insisted that I go ahead. The floods in Pakistan have been worst for 100 years but my presence would not have made any difference. These political animals were making a big hullabaloo about my being here and not returning to Pakistan. They are simply idiots.
Disrespect to the Presidency. Then there was this bearded man who got up in his madness and threw his shoes. He showed utter disrespect to the President of Pakistan and that too abroad. This is not the way to behave.
I hear that there were some people who were very upset about this man's behaviour. They protested tooth and nail in their columns and in their BLOGS. My hats off to these people for their courage to support me.
Thank you, Thank you and Thank you very much. Pakistan Zindabad
------ End of Forwarded Message
--
"All Praise and Thanks are due to Allah (The only Creator) and Peace and Blessings be upon His Messenger Muhammad S.A.W (The Final Prophet of Allah)
MEEDIAFORUM
* Spread the Virtue (Truth, Love, Peace, Justice, Goodness) & Block the Evil (Lie, Injustice, Negativity)
* To root out Intellectual Poverty from the Society
* When we break a tradition we set a tradition
Fawad Rasheed
Advocate (District Courts & High Court Islamabad - Pakistan), Consultant (Immigration & Appeals), & Journalist.
Justice Law Associates
• Suite # O-1202, E/ 6, Asghar Mall Road Rawalpindi - Pakistan.
• Suite # 25, 2nd Floor, Royal Plaza, 6th Road, Rawalpindi - Pakistan.
92-0333-5105188
92-51-5816804
92-51-4581083
www.quranflash.com
www.meediaforum.com
www.meediaforum.ning.com
fawadlaw@gmail.com --
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "JoinPakistan" group.
You all are invited to come and share your information with other group members.
To post to this group, send email to joinpakistan@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com.pk/group/joinpakistan?hl=en?hl=en
You can also visit our blog site : www.joinpakistan.blogspot.com &
on facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Join-Pakistan/125610937483197
No comments:
Post a Comment