President Asif Ali Zardari was honored with a guard of honour by well-trained military contingents on Monday, a day after being sworn in as the country’s 14th president.
During the ceremony at Islamabad’s Aiwan-e-Sadr, Zardari arrived in a traditional horse-drawn buggy, inspecting the guard of honor and shaking hands with President House officials and personnel.
It is worth noting that a newly elected president, as well as an outgoing one, such as Arif Alvi, are given a guard of honour at the Aiwan-e-Sadr as is customary.
Asif Ali Zardari inspects the guard of honour at Aiwan-e-Sadr.
The development comes a day after Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa administered Zardari’s oath as the country’s head of state after he secured 411 electoral votes in parliament and all four provincial assemblies with the support of allied parties, defeating Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) nominee Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who received 181 votes.
It is worth noting that Zardari’s victory came after the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) agreed to work together on government formation at the Centre, with the former playing a key role in Shehbaz Sharif’s election as Prime Minister.
However, in exchange, the PPP obtained its own chief minister in Balochistan, as well as other constitutional positions.
Governors of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as the Senate chairman and deputy speakers of the national and Balochistan parliament.
The PPP and PML-N are also supported by a number of political groups, including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), and Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), among others.
