ISLAMABAD: PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari took the oath as president for a second time. He was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa at a grand ceremony at the Presidency. The two were joined by the newly-elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and outgoing president Dr Arif Alvi.

Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza were also in attendance, while PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was seated next to them.

From Mr Zardari’s family, his daughters Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari and Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari, along with her husband and Mr Zardari’s sister Faryal Talpur, were also in attendance. After the oath-taking ceremony, all the guests shook hands with per Zardari as per tradition. The COAS spent some time with President Zardari, Nawaz Sharif, and Mr Bhutto-Zardari.

The CJP also had a chat with Mr Bhutto-Zardari in a corridor of the Presidency as they were leaving the building.

A day earlier, Mr Zardari had secured 411 electoral votes to defeat his opponent and chief of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Mehmood Khan Achakzai, who garnered 181 electoral votes, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Mr Zardari is the only individual to have been elected as the head of the state for a second time and one of the four democratically elected presidents to have completed their five-year constitutional term.

Besides a large number of guests, many diplomats were also present at the oath-taking ceremony.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian leader Syed Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday congratulated Mr Zardari on his election as president of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

In his message, President Xi said China and Pakistan are good neighbours, good friends, good partners and good brothers, adding that the two countries’ iron-clad friendship is a choice of history and a precious treasure of the two nations.

Chinese president noted that in recent years, the two countries have maintained close high-level exchanges, supported each other on issues concerning their respective core interests and major concerns, achieved fruitful results in the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and maintained a high level of development in bilateral relations, state-run Xinhua reported.

President Raisi, meanwhile, expressed the hope that during his presidency, the historically, culturally, and religiously intertwined relations between the two countries would further develop and deepen.