Thread by @SyedAsifNaqvi16

1/16 Hakim Ali Zardari another perspective on his 13th death anniversary.

This note did not even require much digging and was easily available information

Hakim Ali Zardari is quite a prominent part of both Pakistan’s political and business history.

Aside from vast agricultural land holdings in Nawabshah and literally acres of property in Karachi, Hakim was a prominent politician. This is decades before Asif’s marriage to the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.

Hakim and Mujeeb Ur Rahman supported Fatima Jinnah against Ayub in 1964.

At the height of General Zia ul Haq’s dictatorship, Hakim who was affiliated with both NAP and PPP, supported Nusrat Bhutto and Benazir to lead the MRD Movement.

When Shia Muslims were attacked by Zia-backed terrorists during the 1980s, Hakim was present at the residences of late scholar & speaker Rashid Turabi. Witnesses noticed him & were touched that he, a denominational Sunni Muslim showed solidarity with the under-attack Shia Muslims

Hakim’s vast properties were inherited by Asif Zardari making him far more richer than Bhuttos. Asif Zardari drove a Mercedes in the early 1980s. Both father & son were reputed to be generous with gifts.

Hakim had very good relations with the old business families of Pakistan especially the Zoroastrian communities. One account is of him regularly tipping the staff at even his friends houses with big denomination notes in the 1960s.

Of course, much of this is ignored once Benazir’s marriage was arranged with Asif. After that engagement, the Zardari’s became the 2nd biggest villains (amongst the Pakistani elite) after ZAB & his family.They went from owning a cinema house to being smeared as“ticket scalpers"

Contradictory to ground realities.
Like the popular urban myth in Lahore and Karachi elite drawing rooms that the Zardaris were ticket scalpers &sold black market tickets. This is so absurd and is laughable. Why would a cinema owner scalp tickets related to his cinema.

The reality was that Hakim was generous in giving away free tickets. And the vicious, petty & jealous chattering classes could not handle this. Reason y Hakim Ali Zardari faced pressure from estab & powerful cronies to step back from marriage proposal of his son to SMBB

Somewhere between the late 1980s/1990s, a prominent business family scion had approached Hakim Ali Zardari to seek Asif’s intervention in a crucial business venture. That lucrative business venture was being threatened with a hostile takeover by Nawaz Sharif.

Pres Zardari saved the day for that business family. His reward was being abused with another manufactured slander which subverted his efforts into another pathetic and unsubstantiated gossip of commission.

Basically, if Zardari had not married Benazir and the Zardaris had not left NAP and joined PPP, their perception today would be 180 degrees different.

The one of images above is of Hakim Ali Zardari with Waheed Murad, Pakistan best leading man and actor.
Hakim was friendly towards Pakistan's & Indian early cinema scene and his son, Asif Ali Zardari (Former president and current MNA) even played a role as a child actor.

He introduced cinemas in Pak during 60s when no one could think of that.

Also, He headed a Pakistani film delegation to the Moscow International Film Festival in 1968.

Indian actress Vijayantimala, Singer Noor Jahan & Actress Shamim Ara at the Moscow film festival, 1968.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Pakistan foreign Minister then at the inauguration ceremony of Bambino Cinema along with Hakim Ali Zardari

Field Marshal Ayub Khan arrives at Karachi’s Bambino cinema to watch the premiere of David Lean’s ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ in 1963. Bambino was partially destroyed by fanatics in 2012, along with Nishat, Prince and Capri. Nishat was inaugurated by Fatima Jinnah in 1947.