Profile: Asif Ali Zardari

Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and widower of the late Benazir Bhutto, is the most high-profile of the candidates for the presidency.

Zardari, best known for his charismatic personality and negotiation skills, is the chief of the Zardari tribe in Sindh. He has served as a member of the National Assembly but he did not contest the last general elections and instead opted to lead the PPP. His father Hakim Ali Zardari was also into politics.

He married Benazir Bhutto on December 18, 1987, a year before she became the first woman prime minister of a Muslim country. He served as environment minister during his wife's second stint as prime minister between 1993 and 1996.

Corruption allegations have dogged Zardari's political career. Soon after the late Benazir's first election victory in 1988, Zardari was nicknamed "Mr 10 Per Cent" even as his name continued to be dragged into corruption cases despite his protestations.

In 1990, he was arrested on charges of blackmailing and misuse of power while Benazir was still in power. However, the charges were not proven and he was released from prison in 1993 when the PPP took power for the second time.

He was later jailed from 1997 to 2004 on charges ranging from corruption to murder, none of which were ever proved.

Zardari, 51, has spent a total of 11 years in prison without ever being convicted. He has always maintained that charges against him were politically motivated. Within months of his release, Zardari visited Dubai and attempted to fly back to Pakistan in early 2005 to relaunch his political career. He was however detained at Lahore airport and forced to come back to Dubai.

After suffering heart problems in Dubai, he left for the US and stayed in New York for a couple of years before returning to Dubai in 2007 as Benazir prepared to go back to Pakistan in time for the elections. He led the PPP to victory after Benazir's assassination.