ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari was sworn in as the 14th President of Pakistan today (Sunday), marking his second term as the country’s head-of-state.
The ceremony occurred at the President’s House in Islamabad, with Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa administering the oath.
Various dignitaries graced the occasion, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, outgoing President Arif Alvi, all three service chiefs, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza. Additionally, governors from all four provinces, chief ministers, and foreign diplomats were in attendance.
Zardari, backed by the ruling alliance, clinched victory in the presidential election by a significant margin, defeating the PTI-backed candidate Mahmood Khan Achakzai. Supported by allied parties, mainly Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Zardari secured 411 electoral votes across parliament and provincial assemblies.
His opponent, Achakzai, managed to secure a majority of votes only in the PTI-backed SIC-dominated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. Zardari’s victory was evident in the National Assembly and provincial assemblies, where he garnered substantial support.
This marks Zardari’s second term as president, having previously served from 2008 to 2013. He has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since August 2018. Zardari, born in 1955 and educated in Karachi, was married to Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was assassinated in December 2007.
Zardari succeeds Dr. Arif Alvi, who extended his tenure for five additional months after completing his five-year term in September 2023. The notification regarding Zardari’s assumption of office was issued by the Cabinet Division of the Government of Pakistan, signed by Cabinet Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal.
(Islamabad51_Newsdesk)
