Zardari Education Background - A Mystery
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, March 21 (UPI) -- There appears to be some mystery as to where the co-chairman of the Pakistan People's Party went to school in London.
British officials are having trouble finding the school Asif Ali Zardari is said to have received his graduation or equivalent qualification. The PPP says it was the London School of Economics and Business. But, no one seems to know for sure where that is, Dawn, a Pakistani newspaper, reports.
In a written response to questions about London School of Economics and Business, an Edubase official told Dawn, "I have been unable to find evidence of this institution."
Pakistan officials in 2002 established a rule that a candidate for Parliament must have a certain level of college education.
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www.upi.com / Published: March. 21, 2008 at 1:21 PM
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Zardari a London Graduate: PPP???
LAHORE: Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari is a graduate from London, said PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar. "He (Mr Zardari) is a graduate from the London School of Economics and Business Studies. You can check it on our party's website," said Mr Babar, responding to a question from Daily Times regarding an article in the New York Times which shed some doubt over Mr Zardari's B Ed degree.
A report published in the New York Times by Jane Perlez on Tuesday says, "In the early 1970s, Mr Zardari went to London." It says that while there, he "attended the London School of Business Studies and received a Bachelor of Education degree. His official biography says he attended a commercial college called Pedinton School. But a search of tertiary educational institutions in London showed no such school, and associates said he did not finish his studies."
Perlez goes on to write, "The question of whether Mr Zardari has a university degree" is relevant "because President [Pervez] Musharraf introduced a law in 2002 that made it compulsory for parliamentary candidates to hold a degree in order to qualify for electoral office." She wrote, referring to "expectations among his political colleagues and in the Pakistani news media that Mr Zardari will run for parliament so that he can then assume the post of prime minister".
However, the article also states that when asked about his degree, Mr Zardari said, "I do have a degree. That is not an issue." According to Perlez, "He said he attended the London School of Business Studies 'much before I was married. I think it's a B Ed degree. I haven't really looked at it,' he said."
www.dailytimes.com.pk / Daily Times Monitor / Wednesday, March 12, 2008
