Zaidi was running a business in the United States when he first met Imran Khan in 1995 at a
Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital fundraiser. The two remained in contact, and Zaidi became involved in politics in late 1999, contesting his first election in 2002 on a
PTI ticket. He ran for the seat of the
National Assembly of Pakistan as a candidate of
PTI from Constituency
NA-252 (Karachi-XIV) and from Constituency
NA-208 (Jacobabad) in the
2013 general elections but was unsuccessful. He received 49,622 votes from
NA-252 (Karachi-XIV) and lost to
Abdul Rashid Godil). He received 7,589 votes from NA-208 (Jacobabad) and lost the seat to
Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani. On 25 December 2014, he was appointed as president of
PTI's Karachi chapter. He was elected to the National Assembly from the Constituency
NA-244 (Karachi East-III) as a candidate of PTI in
2018 general elections. On 11 September 2018, he was inducted into the federal cabinet of Prime Minister
Imran Khan and was appointed as
Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs. Ali Zaidi was appointed as PTI's Sindh Chapter president by Imran Khan on 25 December 2021. In May 2023, Zaidi announced his resignation from PTI and stated his intention to leave politics, following what he described as a “difficult decision” after the violent events of
9 May. == Philanthropy ==