Who owns surrey palace

As well as permission to demolish the old house and build a bigger one and to convert a farm on the acre estate to a country house, there has been consent in the past to convert a pool house to accommodation. There is also an airstrip on the estate. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari: Heir to a political dynasty. New charges laid against Musharraf. Benazir Bhutto still at heart of PPP election campaign. Profile: Asif Ali Zardari.

They have just been sold by the liquidator. The allegations date from the mids, when Ms Bhutto's political fortunes reached their zenith. The daughter of Pakistan's most popular leader, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who was executed by the military, she swept to power in and , becoming the first female political leader in the Muslim world. On both occasions she was forced to resign.

Her supporters say she fell foul of a trenchant, military-backed establishment that could not accept a woman with political power. The Pakistani government says she and her husband, known as "Mr Ten Per Cent" for the commissions he allegedly took on contracts while industry minister during his wife's second term, were sacked for "corruption, misrule and nepotism". During a visit to the village pub, the Dog and Pheasant, Mr Zardari said he liked the building so much he wanted to buy it. When told it was not for sale, a replica of the bar area was built in the basement of the mansion.

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Monday, November 15, Asia Pakistan. India Pakistan Philippines. All Sections. It retains some original features including a wood-panelled study. Bhutto, who was assassinated in a bombing, claimed to have never even visited the property. Instead, it has been rented out with one tenant using it for a number of raves and other events. More From Pakistan. Pakistan opens free studio for digital media in Karachi. Pakistan court steps in to rescue stray dogs. Sindh to install desalination plant in Karachi.

Stripped: Benazir Bhutto's former home Rockwood no longer contains the Bhuttos' gaudy ornaments. In the murky world of Pakistani politics, the Bhuttos were broadly the parliamentary opposition to the country's dour but arguably more stable military rulers. But for every voter who saw Benazir as a martyred democrat after her assassination in , there was another who believed she and Zardari were corrupt to the core.

Rockwood House has been a footnote in Pakistan's turbulent political history ever since the Bhuttos bought it through a web of Isle of Man registered companies in Even today, Pakistani gawpers gather at the gates eager to catch a glimpse of the untold wealth that supposedly lies within this unlikely Surrey palace.

For if the Bhuttos really are akin to the Borgias, they fell far short of that renaissance dynasty in terms of home decor. So too, in fact, have most of the original door knobs, bathroom fittings and even roof tiles on the coach house, as the house was squatted by the Bhuttos' unpaid builders. The result was a total eyesore. The most permanent Bhutto addition was what Giles describes as 'a cheap Karachi-style concrete veranda' stuck on the back of the house in order to enjoy the stunning views over the Downs.

The domed master bedroom with inset lights that twinkle like stars may not suit all tastes, but it is supposedly bomb-proof with steel and reinforced concrete.