Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has decided to name his daughter First Lady.

According to a media report, Pakistan President Asif Zardari has decided to formally recognize his 31-year-old daughter Asifa Bhutto as the country’s first lady in a historic decision.

The status of First Lady usually goes to the wife of the President of the country. But Zardari became a widower after the assassination of his wife and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007.

Zardari did not remarry and the post of First Lady remained vacant during her first term as the country’s President from 2008 to 2013.

Zardari, 68, was sworn in as the country’s 14th president on Sunday. His youngest daughter Asifa was also present with him during the swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Islamabad.

According to ARY News report, sources claimed that President Zardari decided to declare Asifa Bhutto as the First Lady of Pakistan.

This became especially relevant when eldest daughter Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari tagged Asifa in a post on Instagram on Sunday.

“From all her court hearings with President Asif Zardari to fighting for his release from jail – now with her as the First Lady of Pakistan,” the tweet said, adding Asifa’s name at the end.

The Bhutto family-led Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) also seems to be signaling Zardari’s decision.

“Who will be the First Lady of Pakistan? This is the question in the minds of many after #PresidentAsifAliZardari took oath as the 14th President of Pakistan, with his youngest child @AseefaBZ accompanying him at his swearing-in ceremony,” the party’s Posted on handle X.

ARY News quoted informed sources as saying that this historic step of appointing Asifa to the prestigious post of First Lady is an important chapter in the political history of the country.

After the official announcement, Asifa will be given protocol and privileges befitting a First Lady.

Asifa was a teenager during Zardari’s first term.

Asifa has been actively involved in the PPP’s election campaign for the February 8 elections and was seen leading various rallies to seek support for her brother Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the party’s former prime ministerial candidate.

Asifa made her political debut at a PPP rally in Multan on November 30, 2020.

There are many examples abroad when presidents, who were widowers, have asked their daughters, sisters and even nieces to become their First Ladies.

Former US President Andrew Jackson, who was a widower, asked his niece Emily Donelson to serve as the country’s First Lady.

Two other US presidents – Chester Arthur and Grover Cleveland – asked their sisters to be First Ladies.