ISLAMABAD: On Sunday, PPP chief Asif Ali Zardari created history by assuming the oath of office as president twice.
In a lavish ceremony at the White House, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa gave him the oath of office. The recently elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the departing President Dr. Arif Alvi joined the two.
PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was sat next to PPP chief General Asim Munir, who was joined by General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir.
Numerous political figures attended the event, including former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, speaker of the National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq, former federal ministers Sherry Rehman, Syed Naveed Qamar, Khursheed Ali Shah, and Ishaq Dar, as well as the chief ministers of Sindh and Balochistan, Syed Murad Ali Shah and Sarfraz Bugti, and the governors of Sindh and Punjab, Kamran Tessori and Baligur Rehman. Ali Amin Gandapur of the PTI, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, did not attend the event, nevertheless.
The guests included Faryal Talpur, Mr. Zardari’s sister, and his daughters Aseefa and Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari, as well as her husband. As is customary, all of the visitors shook hands with Zardari after the oath-taking ceremony. The COAS met with Mr. Bhutto-Zardari, President Zardari, and Nawaz Sharif.
As they were leaving the building, the CJP also spoke with Mr. Bhutto-Zardari in one of the Presidency’s corridors.
According to the Pakistani Election Commission, Mr. Zardari had received 411 electoral votes the day before, defeating his rival and leader of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Mehmood Khan Achakzai, who received 181 votes.
Of the four democratically elected presidents to have served out their full five-year constitutional term, Mr. Zardari is the only one to have been elected as head of state twice.
At the swearing-in ceremony, there were a lot of guests in addition to diplomats.
President congratulated by Xi and Raisi
On Sunday, Mr. Zardari received congratulations from Iranian leader Syed Ebrahim Raisi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on his election to the presidency of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
President Xi stated in his message that China and Pakistan are excellent neighbors, friends, partners, and brothers. He also noted that the two countries’ unwavering friendship is a historical decision and a priceless asset of their respective countries.
According to state-run Xinhua, the Chinese president stated that the two nations have maintained close high-level exchanges in recent years, supported one another on matters pertaining to their respective core interests and major concerns, produced successful outcomes in the building of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and maintained a high level of development in bilateral relations.
Meanwhile, President Raisi expressed the hope that the historically, culturally, and religiously interwoven links between the two countries will deepen and expand during his term.
Outside the Presidency, a protest
On Sunday, a few ardent PPP leaders protested outside the presidential residence over their exclusion from the building’s oath-taking ceremony.
The oath-taking was scheduled for 4 p.m., but many visitors were unable to attend since the presidency’s gates closed at 3 p.m.
Even though several attendees arrived at the location before 3 p.m., they were denied entry to the Presidency because they were unable to present their invitation cards to the security guards.
Those who were asked to wait outside included Nargis Faiz Malik and Shahzadi Kausar. Saying, “If we cannot go, no one else will go inside,” the PPP women leaders blocked several diplomats from entering the gate.
Many ambassadors arrived in their cars during their agitation, but the demonstrators would not let them inside. Diplomats refused to leave their protest and were only permitted to enter the Presidency after the event was over.
