Three weeks after the resignation of Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan has a president: Asif Ali Zardari, the 53-year-old is the widower of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Pakistan welcomes a new President
He today assumed in Islamabad the leadership of Pakistan after being elected in the parliamentary vote on Saturday. Mr Zardari, who was known as Mr Ten Percent during his wife's two spells of government -- due to unproven allegations of corruption -- became Pakistan's 12th and youngest president.
Zardari was sworn in at the palace Aiwan-e-Sadr presided over by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Abdul Hamid Dog. He affirmed to serve "with honesty, according to my best abilities and faithfully." After his investiture, President Zardari told reporters he is accepting the position in the name of his late wife and --- in his words --- "in the name of all martyrs of democracy." The first foreign visit of Zardari will be to China, on September 17.
Musharraf, who had acceded to the presidency through a bloodless coup in October 1999, resigned after pressure from Zardari’s People's Party of Pakistan (PPP)
The ceremony was attended by the chairman of the Pakistani Senate, Mohammadmian Soomro, the prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani and the president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, who previously met with the Pakistani prime minister, Yusaf Raza Gilani.
Relations between the two countries are strained: the government in Kabul accuses the Pakistani secret service (ISI) of supporting the Taliban to destabilize Afghanistan. The Taliban and members of the al-Qaeda network used the tribal regions of Pakistan on the Afghan border as a refuge, from where it organized attacks in both countries.
But missing the event was the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N and former government coalition partner of Zardari, Nawaz Sharif, who had travelled to London.
Zardari was received at the palace by the sound of cornets and the applause of those attending, and then, he began to recite the Koran and declare his oath. Afterwards he greeted the many guests: members of the PPP, ministers, deputies, members of the government, the judiciary, and diplomats, among other important personalities.
Pakistan welcomes a new President
Three weeks after the resignation of Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan has a president: Asif Ali Zardari, the 53-year-old is the widower of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Pakistan welcomes a new President
He today assumed in Islamabad the leadership of Pakistan after being elected in the parliamentary vote on Saturday. Mr Zardari, who was known as Mr Ten Percent during his wife's two spells of government -- due to unproven allegations of corruption -- became Pakistan's 12th and youngest president.
Zardari was sworn in at the palace Aiwan-e-Sadr presided over by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Abdul Hamid Dog. He affirmed to serve "with honesty, according to my best abilities and faithfully." After his investiture, President Zardari told reporters he is accepting the position in the name of his late wife and --- in his words --- "in the name of all martyrs of democracy." The first foreign visit of Zardari will be to China, on September 17.
Musharraf, who had acceded to the presidency through a bloodless coup in October 1999, resigned after pressure from Zardari’s People's Party of Pakistan (PPP)
The ceremony was attended by the chairman of the Pakistani Senate, Mohammadmian Soomro, the prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani and the president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, who previously met with the Pakistani prime minister, Yusaf Raza Gilani.
Relations between the two countries are strained: the government in Kabul accuses the Pakistani secret service (ISI) of supporting the Taliban to destabilize Afghanistan. The Taliban and members of the al-Qaeda network used the tribal regions of Pakistan on the Afghan border as a refuge, from where it organized attacks in both countries.
But missing the event was the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N and former government coalition partner of Zardari, Nawaz Sharif, who had travelled to London.
Zardari was received at the palace by the sound of cornets and the applause of those attending, and then, he began to recite the Koran and declare his oath. Afterwards he greeted the many guests: members of the PPP, ministers, deputies, members of the government, the judiciary, and diplomats, among other important personalities.
