ISLAMABAD: After PPP-P President Asif Ali Zardari assumed office as the 14th President of Pakistan, his youngest daughter, Asefa Bhutto-Zardari, is set to assume the title of First Lady.
The development is the second instance in the country’s 76-year history that the title will be conferred on the daughter or sister of the head of state.
First Lady with President @AAliZardari @AseefaBZ
Earlier, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah conferred the title of First Lady on his sister Fatima Jinnah in a similar capacity.
After the establishment of Pakistan, Fatima Jinnah, the sister of the founder of Pakistan and the country’s first Governor-General, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was given the title of “Mother of the Nation” for her valuable contribution to the freedom struggle, as well as the position of First Lady. She held the title until Jinnah’s death on 11 September 1948.
The title of first lady has traditionally gone to the spouse of a head of government or head of state, making Aseefa Bhutto’s likely appointment a rare occurrence after the “King of Reconciliation”, Asif Zardari, excelled in the matter as well.
However, during his first term as president in 2008, the position of first lady remained vacant.
Asifa Bhutto’s journey to political prominence was characterized by her unwavering support of her father and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). Over the past decade, she has stood by Asif Zardari, lending her voice and determination to support the party’s political goals.
On the day Asif Ali Zardari was to be sworn in as the country’s 14th president, Aseefa arrived by his side to mark the occasion. The official PPP account on X tweeted: “The First Lady with the President” and shared a picture of the two arriving for the swearing-in ceremony.
Later, Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari also tweeted that her younger sister Aseef was by her father’s side in all his “court hearings to fight for his release from prison – now by his side as the First Lady”.
On March 9, PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari was elected as the 14th President of Pakistan by a landslide, defeating opposition candidate Mahmood Khan Achakzai. According to the final result of the vote, Zardari, a former president and the candidate fielded by the ruling alliance, got 255 votes while Achakzai got 119 votes.
In total, Asif Zardari got 411 electoral votes in parliament and four assemblies, while Achakzai got 181 votes.
