Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday took oath as Pakistan’s 14th President, a day after the veteran politician was overwhelmingly elected as the next head of state.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa administered the oath to the 68-year-old Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr, the Presidential Palace. Zardari will replace Dr. Arif Alvi, who stayed in office for five more months despite completing his five-year term in September last year.
The ceremony was attended by 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.
Moreover, governors of all four provinces, chief ministers and foreign diplomats also participated in the ceremony.
Zardari, who was the joint candidate of the ruling alliance, was elected as the country’s president for the second time on Saturday after he defeated PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) candidate Mahmood Khan Achakzai by a huge margin.
The president-elect secured 411 electoral votes in parliament and all four provincial assemblies with the backing of allied parties — mainly Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).
Meanwhile, his rival, Achakzai bagged 181 votes as he was only able to secure the majority of votes in the PTI-backed SIC-dominated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.
In the National Assembly, Zardari bagged 225 votes while Achakzai received 119 votes. Meanwhile, in the Sindh Assembly, he gained 53 votes while his opponent could only get three.