ISLAMABAD, Sept 10- Mamnoon Hussain was sworn in as Pakistan’s 12th president for the next five years at the president house in the federal capital Islamabad Monday, China’s Xinhua news agency reported, citing local media report.
He was sworn in by the Chief Justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, members of the federal cabinet, chief ministers of four provinces, former presidents including Asif Ali Zardari, former prime ministers, judges, the Services Chiefs, diplomats and senior officials.
Hussain assumed the office of the head of state after former president Zardari stepped down on Sunday after completing his five year term as the country’s elected president.
Hussain, a candidate of ruling party PML-N, won the Presidential polls held on July 30 by an electoral college comprising members of the Parliament, the Senate and the four provincial assemblies.
The 73-year-old president, who is a close ally of Nawaz Sharif, defeated Justice (Rtd) Wajiuddin Ahmed of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf, as the former ruling party PPP boycotted the Presidential elections.
Hussain, a business graduate, born in 1940 in India migrated to Pakistan in 1947 along with his family at the time of partition.
He also served as governor of southern province of Sindh from June to October 1999, till he was ousted along with the PML-N government of Nawaz Sharif by the then army chief General Pervez Musharraf.
– BERNAMA
