President Asif Ali Ten PercentZardari
... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ...
is expected to leave Pakistain to stay abroad for an indefinite period after his retirement on September 8.
Sources close to the president told Dawn.com that his friends advised him to stay away given serious threats to his life. President Zardari has already told his associates he will not contest the next presidential elections. "And why should he? We are not even having a candidate to run for the office of president," presidential spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar said.
The balance of power drastically shifted in favor of Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz (PML-N) after the May 11 general elections. Under Article 41(3), the Electoral College for the president comprises the Senate, National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies. The PML-N enjoys an absolute majority in the electoral college.
Pakistain Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Sharmila Faruqi expressed ignorance about the future plans of the president. The presidential spokesperson did not respond to queries about the speculation either.
However,
a lie repeated often enough remains a lie...
according to sources, the liquidation of the president's chief security officer Bilal Sheikh was a wake up call for President Zardari and his family -- once the security layers around them are not intact post-retirement, they could be in an extremely vulnerable position.
Sheikh himself is not the first high profile security officer of the Bhutto himself to be killed. Previously, Khalid Shahenshah, the Bilawal House chief security officer, was killed outside his residence in 2008. In 2011, Imran Jangi, another prominent security officer of the Bhutto family was bumped off in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
For many, it seems like a natural conclusion. "Look at the president's public appearances in the last five years. Very rare. He prefers to live in his bunker. Now after losing all presidential privileges he will not stay in Pakistain," commented a former People's Party (PPP) leader who requested not to be named.