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ISLAMABAD - Fresh questions have been raised about Asif Zardari, the man poised to become Pakistan's next President, after it was revealed that doctors who examined him said he was suffering from severe mental health problems as recently as last year.
Court documents filed by Zardari's doctors suggest he had been diagnosed as suffering from a series of serious conditions, including severe depression, dementia and post-traumatic stress disorder. He had even experienced suicidal thoughts.
Zardari, the widowed husband of Benazir Bhutto, was thrust into the centre of Pakistan's political maelstrom following the assassination of his wife last December.
Named by Bhutto as her successor, the man who spent 11 years in jail over corruption charges has been chosen by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) as its candidate for next week's presidential election - a contest he is expected to win.
The details of Zardari's mental health examination, revealed yesterday by the Financial Times, were presented to a court in London to support an application to delay a now-defunct corruption case that was being brought against him by the Pakistan Government. His lawyers presumably were looking for reasons to postpone the hearing - something they were successful in achieving.
Zardari's confidants now say he is entirely healthy. However, analysts said it was possible that the PPP leader's enemies could use the revelations to attack him.
"I don't know if someone's going to raise it or not, but being of sound mind is a condition of becoming President," said Shafqat Mahmood, a newspaper columnist.
"His opponents may bring it up to attack Zardari and submit a petition to the Election Commission."
Either way, the revelations will add to the controversy surrounding the man nicknamed "Mr 10 Per Cent" for his alleged corruption and who has been Pakistan's de facto Prime Minister since elections last February saw the PPP win the largest number of seats.
Ordinary Pakistanis overwhelming hoped those elections would usher in a new era of stability and economic progress, but that has not happened. Instead, the past six months have been marred by persistent disagreements between the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) of Nawaz Sharif, the former Prime Minister, which formed a coalition government.
The documents presented to the High Court in London by Zardari's lawyers about his mental health reveal he was examined by two New York-based doctors. Stephen Reich, a psychologist, reportedly said the PPP leader was unable to remember the birthdays of his wife and children, was continually apprehensive and had even had suicidal thoughts.
Philip Saltiel, a psychiatrist who examined Zardari in March last year, apparently said years in jail had left the politician suffering from emotional instability and concentration and memory problems that he did not believe would improve for at least a year.
Neither of the doctors was available for comment. But Hussain Haroon, a friend and ally of Zardari and soon to become Pakistan's United Nations ambassador, said: "The report refers to something three years old. He is fit and well. He was jogging around the Prime Minister's House just a moment ago."
- INDEPENDENT
