Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Asif Zardari has officially taken the oath as the 14th President of Pakistan on Sunday, marking a historic second term following a decisive victory in the presidential election the day before.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa administered the oath at the ceremony took place at the President’s House in Islamabad.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, newly elected, and outgoing President Dr Arif Alvi stood alongside them. Notable attendees included Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, and PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Prominent political figures such as former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, and former federal minister, diplomatic corps, media, think tank and civil society were also present on the occasion.
The Chief Ministers of Sindh and Balochistan, Syed Murad Ali Shah and Sarfraz Bugti, as well as the Governors of Sindh and Punjab, Kamran Tessori and Baligur Rehman, attended the ceremony.
Zardari’s family members, including his daughters Aseefa Bhutto Zardari and Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, along with Bakhtawar’s husband and Zardari’s sister Faryal Talpur, graced the occasion.
Notably, Zardari becomes the first individual to be elected as the head of state for a second time and joins the ranks of the four democratically elected presidents who completed their full five-year constitutional term.
Nominated as the joint candidate of the PML-N-led coalition government through a quid pro quo deal, Zardari steps into the presidency, succeeding Dr Arif Alvi, who extended his term by five months due to the delay in the electoral college formation after completing his initial five-year term in September 2023.
