SINCE Dawn publishes the daily horoscope in the Metropolitan Section, those readers interested in astrology may like to read some observations about the Sun signs of various leaders. A recent report (July 27) said that President Asif Ali Zardari's birthday was celebrated by the activists of the PPP in several districts of Sindh on July 26.

This means that his Sun sign, also referred to as the horoscopic or zodiacal sign, would be Leo, since all those born between July 24 and August 23 are placed in this sign. The other Pakistani leaders with this sign that I know of were/are Ziaul Haque, Pervez Musharraf and the interior minister Rehman Malik. A few famous foreign leaders who were born in the same time period include Napoleon, Mussolini and Fidel Castro.

Interestingly, another sign common to several Pakistani leaders is Capricon (Dec 22 through Jan 20), having Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif in its fold. Well-known overseas ones include Woodrow Wilson, Mao Zedong and Richard Nixon.

The chairman of the PPP, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, is a Virgo, while his late mother Benazir Bhutto was Gemini.

HAFIZULLAH

Karachi