Who will be Pakistan's First Lady?

ISLAMABAD: Asif Ali Zardari was sworn in as the country's 14th president on Sunday and the question that is on people's minds is who is going to be the first lady of Pakistan?

Zardari, during his oath-taking ceremony at the President's House in Islamabad yesterday, was accompanied by his youngest daughter, Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, The News reported Monday.

This became particularly relevant when Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, the eldest daughter, tagged Aseefa in a tweet on Sunday in which she could be seen accompanying her father to the oath-taking ceremony. 

The text read: “From accompanying president Asif Zardari to all his court hearings to fighting for his release from jail — now by his side as First Lady of Pakistan” and added Aseefa’s name at the end."

A first lady is the president's wife, however, in this case, President Zardari is a widower after his wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, was martyred in 2007. 

Since then, the president did not remarry and the position of the first lady also remained vacant during his first tenure as the country's president — from 2008 to 2013.

However, this time it is different, as Aseefa was a teenager during her father's first tenure as the head of state, and currently, she is 31 years old. 

Aseefa had actively been involved in the party's electoral campaign in the run-up to the February 8 polls and was seen leading various rallies in a bid to seek support for her brother Bilawal Bhutto Zardari — the party's then-candidate for the prime minister's post.

According to Arab News, Aseefa made her political debut at a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) rally in Multan on November 30, 2020.

Moreover, in the past, Madar-e-Millat Fatima Jinnah also accompanied her brother Quaid-e-Azam occasionally on various occasions including official events. He was also a widower. 

There are many instances from foreign countries when presidents, who were widowers, had asked their daughters, sisters and even nieces to become their first lady. 

Former United States president Andrew Jackson, who was a widower, had asked his niece Emily Donelson to serve as the country's first lady. Moreover, two other US presidents — Chester Arthur and Grover Cleveland — asked their sisters to serve as first lady.