KARACHI: Former senator and spokesperson to President Asif Ali Zardari, Farhatullah Babar, launched his memoir titled “Zardari presidency – now it must be told” at the Karachi Press Club on Monday. The 500-page book offers an insider’s perspective on Zardari’s presidency from 2008 to 2013, covering major events during a turbulent period in Pakistan’s history.
Babar emphasized that the memoir is not a biography but a detailed account of dramatic episodes that shaped both the presidency and the nation. It includes over 80 key incidents such as the discovery of Osama Bin Laden, civil-military tensions, the Memogate scandal, and the fallout over Raymond Davis.
The book reveals Zardari’s difficult relations with the judiciary and military, including an incident when troops surrounded the presidency to pressure the president. It also discloses for the first time a draft charge sheet for General Musharraf’s impeachment and secret diplomatic efforts like a failed nuclear no-first-use proposal to India and covert talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Describing Zardari as resilient, deeply political, misjudged, and often vilified, Babar stated, “Zardari has been sinned against far more than he has sinned,” comparing his endurance to a character in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment.
Babar clarified that he did not seek permission from Zardari or the PPP to write the book, calling it a duty to history. He described it as the account of a president navigating tensions among allies, judges, and generals—written by someone who witnessed it firsthand.
