Imran Khan’s Party’s Founding Member Becomes Pakistan’s 13th President

Imran Khan’s government has elected the new 13^th President of the ‘Naya Pakistan’ in a recent election.

Dr Arif Alvi, a close ally of Prime Minister Imran Khan and one of the founding members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, was elected as the new President of Pakistan on Tuesday.

In a 3-way contest, Alvi defeated Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Aitzaz Ahsan and the Pakistan Muslim League-N nominee Maulana Fazl ur Rehman.

Of the 430 votes cast in the National Assembly and Senate, Alvi received 212 votes, Rehman bagged 131 and Ahsan garnered 81; six votes were rejected, a national TV channel reported, citing unofficial results.

Alvi secured 45 of the 60 votes cast by the Balochistan’s newly elected lawmakers, it said.

In the PPP-dominated Sindh Assembly, Ahsan got 100 votes, while Alvi bagged 56. Just a solitary vote was cast in the favour of Rehman.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Alvi received 78 of the total 109 votes, while Rehman and Ahsan got 26 and five votes respectively. In Punjab Assembly, Alvi secured 186 votes, whereas Rehman and Ahsan received 141 and 6 votes respectively; 18 votes were rejected.

In his victory speech, Alvi thanked Prime Minister Khan for nominating “me for such a big responsibility.” Alvi said that “from today I am not just president that was nominated by the PTI but I am the president of the entire nation and all parties. Each party has an equal right on me”.

The newly elected president will take the oath of the office on September 9. Outgoing President Mamnoon Hussain’s five-year tenure ends on September 8.

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DR. ARIF ALVI’S CONNECTION TO INDIA

Alvi’s predecessors Mamnoon Hussain’s family came from Agra.

His father Dr Habib ur Rehman Elahi Alvi was a dentist to Nehru before partition, according to a short biography of the new president on the website of his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party.

“Dr Elahi Alvi was a dentist to Jawaharlal Nehru and the family has letters from Mr Nehru to Dr Alvi in their possession,” according to the website.

Alvi, whose full name is Dr Arif ur Rehman Alvi, was born in Karachi in 1947 where his father settled after partition. He inherited the profession of a dentist from his father who practised dentistry in India before partition and opened a dental practice in Saddar, Karachi after migration.

His father was also connected with the Jinnah family and was made a Trustee of the trust established by Shirinbai Jinnah (Quaid-e-Azam’s sister) to which she gifted all her worldly belongings including the Mohatta Palace in Karachi.