The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

and the commander-in-chief of the

Pakistan Armed Forces The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...

.Article 41(1)
in Chapter 1: The President, Part III: The Federation of Pakistan in the Constitution of Pakistan. The office of president was created upon the proclamation of Islamic Republic on 23 March 1956. The then serving governor-general,

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Iskander Mirza Sahibzada Iskander Ali Mirza ( bn, ইস্কান্দার আলী মির্জা; ur, ; 13 November 1899 – 13 November 1969), , was a Pakistani Bengali general officer and civil servant who was the first President of Pakista ...

, assumed office as the first president. Following the 1958 ''coup d'etat'', the office of

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

was abolished, leaving the Presidency as the most powerful office in the country. This position was further strengthened when the 1962 Constitution was adopted. It turned Pakistan into a

Presidential Republic A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separation ...

, giving all executive powers to the president. In 1973, the new Constitution established

Parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

and reduced president's role to a ceremonial one. Nevertheless, the military takeover in 1977 reversed the changes. The 8th Amendment turned Pakistan into a

semi-presidential republic A semi-presidential republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has ...

and in the period between 1985 and 2010, the executive power was shared by president and prime minister. The 18th Amendment in 2010 restored

Parliamentary Democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

in the country, and reduced presidency to a ceremonial position. The constitution prohibits the president from directly running the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

. Instead, the executive power is exercised on his behalf by the

who keeps him informed on all matters of internal and foreign policy, as well as all legislative proposals. The Constitution however, vests the president with the powers of granting pardons, reprieves, and the

control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controllin ...

over the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

; however, all appointments at higher commands of the

must be made by the President on a "required and necessary" basis, upon consultation and approval from the prime minister. The president is indirectly elected by the Electoral College for a five-year term. The Constitution requires the president to be a " Muslim of not less than forty five (45) years of age". The president resides in an estate in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

known as

Aiwan-e-Sadar The Aiwan-e-Sadr ( ur, ), or Presidential Palace, is the official residence and workplace of the President of Pakistan. It is located in northeastern Islamabad on Constitution Avenue (Islamabad), Constitution Avenue, between the Parliament of ...

(President's House). In his absence, the chairman of Senate exercises the responsibilities of the post, until the actual president resumes office, or the next office holder is

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

. There have been a total of 13 presidents. The first president was Iskander Ali Mirza who entered office on 23 March 1956. The current office holder is

Arif Alvi Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi (; born 29 July 1949) is a Pakistani dentist and politician currently serving as the 13th President of Pakistan, in office since 9 September 2018. He was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2013 to May 2 ...

, who took charge on 9 September 2018, following his victory in the

2018 elections The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2018. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. Africa *2018 Djiboutian parliamentary election 23 February 2018 * 2018 Sierra Leonean general ele ...

Powers and authority

Role of the president

The

official residence An official residence is the residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-related functions. ...

and principal workplace of the president is

Aiwan-e-Sadr The Aiwan-e-Sadr ( ur, ), or Presidential Palace, is the official residence and workplace of the President of Pakistan. It is located in northeastern Islamabad on Constitution Avenue, between the Parliament Building and the Cabinet block of t ...

— the presidential palace located in northeastern

. The presidency forms the vital institutional organ of

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and is part of the bicameral

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. Powers to exercise the authority are limited to the ceremonial figurehead, and required to

address An address is a collection of information, presented in a mostly fixed format, used to give the location of a building, apartment, or other structure or a plot of land, generally using political boundaries and street names as references, along ...

the

to give a direction for national policies before being informed of its key decisions. In addition, the president is also a

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

commander-in-chief of the

, with chairman joint chiefs being its chief military adviser to maintain the

of the

. After a thorough confirmation comes from the

, the president confirms the judicial appointments in the national

court system A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...

. In addition, the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

allows the president to grant pardons, reprieves, and clemency in cases recommended to him by the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

and the

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

. The president himself has absolute constitutional immunity from criminal and civil proceedings, and no proceedings can be initiated or continued against him during the term of his office. From 2000 until 2009, the president was the chairman of the National Security Council who had authority and control over the nuclear and strategic arsenals; however, the chairmanship and the powers transferred back to the

. Furthermore, the presidential powers have significantly declined with Pakistan's government reversed to a

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

democratic republic.

Eligibility and selection process

The Constitution of Pakistan sets the principle qualifications that the candidate must meet to be eligible to the office of the president.Article 41(2)
in Chapter 1: The President, Part III: The Federation of Pakistan in the Constitution of Pakistan. A president has to be: * A citizen of

* A Muslim * At least 45 years of age * Qualified to be elected as member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

Whenever the ''

'' becomes vacant, the selection of president is done by the electoral college, which consists of both houses of

(the Senate and

) and the

four 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

provincial assemblies. The chief election commissioner has to conduct elections to the office of the president in a special session.

Voting Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holde ...

takes place in secrecy. Each elector casts a different number of votes. The general principle is that the total number of votes cast by members of Parliament equals the total number of votes cast by provincial legislators. Each of the provincial legislatures has an equal number of votes to each other, based on the number of members of the smallest legislature, which is the Balochistan Assembly (65 seats). The constitution further states that election to the office of president will not be held earlier than sixty days and not later than thirty days before the expiration of the term of the president in office.

Election and oath

The president is

indirectly for a term of five years. The incumbent president is eligible for re-election to that office, but cannot hold that office for more than two consecutive terms. The president is required to make and subscribe in the presence of the chief justice—, an oath or affirmation that the president shall protect, preserve and defend the Constitution as follows:

Line of succession and removal

The Constitution discusses the possibility of an acting president. Certain office-holders, however, are permitted to stand as presidential candidates in case of vacancy as the constitution does not include a position of vice president: * The chairman of the

Senate of Pakistan Senate of Pakistan or Aiwān-e-Bālā Pākistān ( ur, , , literally "Pakistan upper house"), is the upper house, upper legislative chamber of the bicameral legislature of Pakistan, and together with the National Assembly (Pakistan), National As ...

* The

speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan The Speaker of the National Assembly (Urdu: اسپیکر قومی اسمبلی); informally as Speaker National Assembly, is the presiding official of the National Assembly of Pakistan– a lower house of the Parliament of Pakistan. The off ...

. The president may be removed before the expiry of the term through impeachment. The president can be removed for violation of the Constitution of Pakistan. The impeachment process may start in either of the two houses of the Parliament. The house initiates the process by leveling the charges against the president.Article 47(3)
in Chapter 1: The President, Part III: The Federation of Pakistan in the Constitution of Pakistan. The charges are contained in a notice that has to be signed by either the chairman or the speaker of the National Assembly through a two-thirds majority. The notice is sent up to the president, and 14 days later it is taken up for consideration. A resolution to impeach the president has to be passed by the two-thirds majority. The speaker of the National Assembly then summons the joint session not earlier than seven days. The president has the right to defend oneself. If the resolution is passed by the two-thirds majority at the joint session declaring that the president is unfit to hold the office due to incapacity or is guilty of violating the Constitution or of gross misconduct, then the president shall cease to hold office immediately on the passing of the resolution. No president has been impeached. However, the proceedings have been used in 2008 in an attempt to impeach former president

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...

who tendered the resignation after the proceedings above were used.

List of presidents

Living former presidents

File:State emblem of Pakistan.svg, File:Pervez Musharraf 2004 (square).jpg, File:Asif Ali Zardari - 2009.jpg,

Political background

Presidential Standard of Pakistan (1956-1967)

Early origins

From 1947 until 1956, the governor-general of Pakistan acted for the

: King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

(until 1952) and Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

(from 1952). With the promulgation of the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

, Pakistan became an Islamic republic in 1956, and the governor-general was replaced with the presidency. The incumbent governor-general,

, became Pakistan's first president. He reportedly suspended the first constitution in 1958, and appointed Army commander-in-chief General Ayub Khan as the first

chief martial law administrator The office of the Chief Martial Law Administrator was a senior and authoritative post with Zonal Martial Law Administrators as deputies created in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia that gave considerable executive authority and p ...

. Khan subsequently dismissed Mirza in order to become the president. Iskander Mirza

The second constitution introduced by President Ayub Khan turned the country into a

presidential republic A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separation ...

without

direct elections Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are cho ...

. Succumbing to internal and international pressure, however, Khan held a nationwide

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

in 1965. Khan successfully campaigned against his opponent, Fatima Jinnah, for a second term, but some have alleged that elections were rigged in favour of Khan. Presidential standard of Pakistan (1974–1998)

Presidential standard of Pakistan (1974–1998)

Controversy regarding the

U-2 incident On 1 May 1960, a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defence Forces while conducting photographic aerial reconnaissance deep inside Soviet territory. The single-seat aircraft, flown by American pilot Francis Gary Power ...

(1960),

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

(1963), and

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

with

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

(1965), fueled a fierce

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

opposition movement led by

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourt ...

of the PPP and Bengali nationalist

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengali politi ...

who, with the support of demonstrators, aimed to further weaken the presidency. Suffering from paralysis and declining health, Ayub Khan handed over the presidency to army chief General

Yahya Khan General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan , (Urdu: ; 4 February 1917 – 10 August 1980); commonly known as Yahya Khan, was a Pakistani military general who served as the third President of Pakistan and Chief Martial Law Administrator following his p ...

, who imposed martial law and announced that national elections would be held in 1970. Eventually,

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

were held in 1970 which saw the PPP gaining a majority of seats in West Pakistan (current-day Pakistan) and the Awami League gaining a majority in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...

(current-day Bangladesh). After he was unable to reach a compromise between the PPP and the Awami League, President Yahya Khan invited

Nurul Amin Nurul Amin ( bn, নুরুল আমিন; ur, ; 15 July 1893 – 2 October 1974) was a prominent Pakistani leader, and a jurist who served as the eighth prime minister of Pakistan and as the first and only vice president of Pakistan. H ...

of the

Pakistan Muslim League The Pakistan Muslim League ( ur, ; known as PML), is the name of several different Pakistani political parties that have dominated the right-wing platform in the country. The Muslim League (a different party) was the party of Pakistan’ ...

to become the

, and also appointed him as the first

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

. The growing instigated violence against Pakistanis in East Pakistan forced President Yahya Khan to use force in order to maintain order there, which further escalated Bengali resistance (1970).

Preemptive strikes A preemptive war is a war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived imminent offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending (allegedly unavoidable) war ''shortly before'' that attack materializes. It ...

against

led to another

in 1971, which freed

and created

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. Taking personal responsibility for the political isolation and devastation of

after the

fall Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...

, President Yahya Khan stepped down and ceded power to

. President Bhutto created the current Constitution of Pakistan in 1973, transforming

into a

parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

, and reducing presidential powers to that of a ceremonial

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...

Past Interventions

The

held in 1977 resulted in an atmosphere of civil unrest instigated by the right-wing alliance, the

Pakistan National Alliance The Pakistan National Alliance (Urdu: پاکستان قومی اتحاد, Acronym: PNA), was a populist and consolidated right-wing political alliance, consisting of nine political parties of the country. Formed in 1977, the country's leading ...

. The events leading to it resulted in

military intervention Interventionism refers to a political practice of intervention, particularly to the practice of governments to interfere in political affairs of other countries, staging military or trade interventions. Economic interventionism refers to a diff ...

by chief of army staff General

Zia-ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, ( Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial ...

and Chairman Joint Chiefs Admiral

Mohammad Shariff Admiral Mohammad Shariff ( ur, ; 1 July 1920 – 27 April 2020), was a Pakistan Navy senior admiral, who served as the 2nd Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and a memoirist who was at the center of all the major decisions made ...

. Suspending the

in 1977, General

took over the presidency in 1978. Zia's

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

oversaw the modern growth of far-right ideas in the country. Succumbing to domestic pressure to restore the

, President

held a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

(1984) and called for

in 1985. President

appointed Mohammad Junejo as

and assumed more powers through the constitutional amendment. After dismissing

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Junejo, President

announced that new

would be held, but President Zia died in a plane crash in 1988. The

held in 1988 witnessed the victory of PPP in 1988 and appointed Senate chairman

Ghulam Ishaq Khan Ghulam Ishaq Khan ( ur, غلام اسحاق خان; 20 January 1915 – 27 October 2006), was a Pakistani bureaucrat who served as the seventh president of Pakistan, elected in 1988 following Zia's death until his resignation in 1993. He wa ...

to the presidency. The conflict between

Benazir Bhutto and President

arose in two areas regarding the issues of appointments. President

repeatedly intervened in government matters and leveled charges against

Benazir Bhutto; thus dismissing

Benazir Bhutto in 1990. After holding

in 1990,

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime minister of Pak ...

brought up an ideologically

conservative government Conservative or Tory government may refer to: Canada In Canadian politics, a Conservative government may refer to the following governments administered by the Conservative Party of Canada or one of its historical predecessors: * 1st Canadian Mi ...

and President

unsuccessfully tried to dismiss Sharif. After a successful intervention by Supreme Court and

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...

General Shamim Allam, President

and Prime Minister

tendered resignations in 1993. Following the new elections held in 1993,

Benazir Bhutto established a strong government after appointing loyalists

Farooq Leghari Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari ( ur, ; 29 May 194020 October 2010), was a Pakistani politician who served as the eighth president of Pakistan from 14 November 1993 until resigning on 2 December 1997. He is the first Baloch to have been elected ...

to the presidency. However, the corruption charges and the controversial death of

Murtaza Bhutto Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto (; 18 September 1954 – 20 September 1996) was a Pakistani politician and leader of al-Zulfiqar, a Pakistani left-wing militant organization. The son of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, he ear ...

in 1996 resulted in President

dismissing

Benazir Bhutto. In 1997, President

could not overcome the heavy mandate bestowed on Prime Minister

by the public in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

. President Leghari unsuccessfully supported Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah— both of them resigned, ending the conflict between the

Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

, the

Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

, and the

. After appointing

Rafiq Tarar Muhammad Rafiq Tarar (; ur, ; 2 November 1929 – 7 March 2022) was a Pakistani politician and jurist who served as the ninth president of Pakistan from January 1998 until his resignation in June 2001, and prior to that as a senator from Pun ...

, the

successfully passed constitutional amendment to decisively limit the presidency. After staging a controversial

self coup A self-coup, also called autocoup (from the es, autogolpe), is a form of coup d'état in which a nation's head, having come to power through legal means, tries to stay in power through illegal means. The leader may dissolve or render powerless ...

in 1999, General

dismissed Prime Minister

and President

in 2001 while assuming more powers to the presidency. In January 2004, the Electoral College

Musharraf, and as a result he was, according to the Constitution, "deemed to be elected". President Musharraf's repeated unconstitutional intervention resulted in a standoff with the

, and declared a state of emergency in 2007, after dismissing the senior justices of the Supreme Court. Although Musharraf was elected in 2007, the constitutional legality of Musharraf's rule was found dubious. A populist constitutional movement eventually resulted in Musharraf's departure. On 22 August 2008, the electoral commission called for presidential nominations to be delivered by 26 August 2008 and for elections to be held on 6 September 2008.

Figurehead overview

Pakistani President Arif Alvi visits Maritime Ministry, flanked by Minister Ali Zaidi and Federal Secretary Rizwan Ahmed

After the

held in 2008,

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari ( ur, ; sd, ; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakist ...

lobbied for constitutional amendment to restore the

as it was in 1973.nytimes.com "Zardari is elected Pakistan's president."
''New York Times'' 7 September 2008. In 2010, the

unanimously and with a large majority, passed the eighteenth amendment of the constitution. It revoked the presidential powers and changed Pakistan from a semi-presidential system of government to a parliamentary republic, with great hopes of governmental stability in the future.

References

External links

President of Pakistan: official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:President Of Pakistan Parliament of Pakistan

1956 establishments in Pakistan