On Friday, President Arif Alvi received a farewell guard of honor at Aiwan-e-Sadr as his constitutional term came to an end.
The president was escorted to the salute dais, where he reviewed the guard of honor presented by contingents of the armed forces.
Arif Alvi became the country’s 13th president after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by then-Prime Minister Imran Khan, won the election. He took the oath of office on September 9, 2018, succeeding Mamnoon Hussain.
Arif Alvi’s five years as president involved working with two governments, one supportive and the other adversarial. He appeared proactive after Imran Khan’s ouster through a no-confidence vote in April 2022, challenging the Sharif government.
From the beginning, he took a firm stance by refusing to administer the oath to Shehbaz Sharif. Last year, Alvi found himself in controversy over legislation he claimed not to have signed, yet it became law. The legislation included the Official Secrets Act Amendment Bill 2023 and the Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2023.
He voiced opposition to the registration of numerous cases against the jailed former premier following his removal.
In his political career, Alvi, a close ally of Imran Khan, ran for the Provincial Assembly of Sindh in the 1997 general election but was unsuccessful. He also contested in the 2002 elections but did not win. He served as PTI secretary-general from 2006 to 2013. In 2013, he was elected to the National Assembly and became the president of PTI’s Sindh chapter in 2016. Alvi was re-elected to the National Assembly in 2018.
The election for the new President of Pakistan is scheduled for Saturday. Asif Ali Zardari, the joint candidate of PPP, PML-N, MQM-P, and Sunni Ittehad Council’s candidate Mahmood Khan Achakzai, are competing for the vacant office. The president is elected by an electoral college comprising members of the Senate, the National Assembly, and the four provincial assemblies. With the majority in all assemblies and the Senate, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari is set to become the President of Pakistan for the second time.