Pakistan's beleaguered President Asif Ali Zardari, who is facing fresh challenges since the Supreme Court scrapped a graft amnesty that benefited him, has sacrificed hundreds of black goats to ward off the "evil eye" since he moved into the presidency in 2008.
A black goat is slaughtered almost daily to ward off the 'evil eye' and protect Zardari from 'black magic', the Dawn newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The President also reportedly uses only camel and goat milk due to superstitions, the report said.
However, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar brushed aside suggestions that Zardari is a superstitious man.
'It has been an old practice of Mr Zardari to offer 'sadqa' (charity). He has been doing this for a long time,' Babar said.
Zardari's detractors, however, perceive his new-found religiosity as a sign of nervousness in the wake of the scrapping of the National Reconciliation Ordinance by the Supreme Court last month.
The NRO was issued by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to withdraw anti-corruption cases against Zardari and over 8,000 others.
The Dawn reported that hundreds of black goats had been sacrificed since Zardari moved into the presidency in September 2008.
Zardari's trusted personal servant, Bai Khan, buys the goats from Saidpur, a village in the heart of Islamabad. Zardari touches the animal before it is sent to his private house in Sector F-8/2 in the city to be sacrificed.
When Zardari moved into the presidency in September 2008, he was shown on state-run TV touching several black goats before they were led away by a member of his staff.
There are also reports that when Zardari moved into the President's House, a flock of black partridges were introduced there for their supposedly magical effects. However, the whole flock was electrocuted when a live wire fell on its cage.
A camel, a cow and a few goats have also been kept on the grounds of the presidency to provide milk for Zardari.
The President has also introduced the neem tree at his official residence for its antiseptic qualities.
