Democracy flourishing in Pakistan, says COAS Bajwa

ISLAMABAD - Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa said on Sunday that democracy is taking root in Pakistan.

The army chief expressed this view while talking to media at the oath-taking ceremony of President-elect Dr Arif Alvi.

“Democratic institutions are quickly becoming more robust and will only get stronger with the passage of time,” Gen Qamar was quoted as saying.

He termed Alvi's oath-taking as an important day for the democratic process in the country.

Dr. Arif Alvi was sworn in as Pakistan’s 13th head of state in a ceremony held at Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad on Sunday.

https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/dr-arif-alvi-to-take-oath-as-president-of-pakistan-today/

The oath was administered by Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar in a ceremony attended by top civil-military brass including Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Zubair Hayat and others.

He will take over office from Mamnoon Hussain, the former president who completed his tenure on Saturday.

Alvi, the PTI’s Karachi leader who was elected to the National Assembly as a candidate from the NA-247 constituency, resigned from his seat earlier this week.

He was born in 1949 and a dentist by profession, Arif is among the founding members of PTI. He served as the secretary general of PTI from 2006 to 2013.

Alvi was elected as the member of the National Assembly of Pakistan for the first time in General Election 2013 on a PTI ticket from the NA-250 constituency of Karachi.