Bilawal Zardari’s two worlds collided after false statements appeared on a Facebook profile in his name and his father’s aides suggested that the Pakistani Government was using them to undermine the 19-year-old’s image.

Benazir Bhutto’s son was thrust into the international limelight, and Pakistani politics, on Sunday when he was appointed chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which his late mother led until her assassination. He had previously lived in relative obscurity as a first-year history student at Christ Church, Oxford, enjoying horse-riding, tae kwon do and networking on his genuine Facebook account.

The bogus statement, which appeared on Tuesday, seemed to be a sincere response to condolences sent to a Facebook profile in the name of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. “I am not a born leader. I am not a politician or a great thinker,” it says. “I’m merely a student. I do the things that students do like make mistakes, eat junk food, watch Buffy [the Vampire Slayer] but most importantly of all . . . learn. My time to lead will come but for now I’m the one asking questions, not the one answering them.”

Yesterday an aide to Bilawal’s father, Asif Ali Zardari, said that his son had not posted any public messages on his real Facebook profile, which is under the name of Bilawal Lawalib. “It’s the Government,” the aide said. “They’re trying to make it look like it was a mistake to appoint him, because he is so young. They’re trying to demonise Mr Zardari.”

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The teenager’s father, 51, is to run the party as co-chairman until Mr Zardari Jr finishes his studies. Some supporters dislike his father, who has served several years in jail on corruption and other charges. Others have questioned his son’s right to lead the party.

The fake Facebook profile may be the work of a bored student, probably in Britain given that information on it has appeared in the British press. It indicates the sort of problems that the younger Mr Zardari faces.

Since he was seen on television on Sunday, two dozen Facebook groups have been set up – many catering to female fans. His name and his face now appear on thousands of websites.

His genuine Facebook profile, in the group Christ Church Freshers 2007, offers a glimpse of his former Oxford life, far from Pakistan’s deeply conservative society. One picture posted by a friend shows him with his face painted and in horns for a fancy-dress party.

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