| President of Pakistan | |
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| صدرِ پاکستان | |
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| Head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Executive branch of the Government of Pakistan | |
| Style | Honourable President (formal) His Excellency[1] (diplomatic) Mr President (informal) |
| Type | Head of state Commander-in-chief |
| Residence | Aiwan-e-Sadr,Red Zone,Islamabad-44040 |
| Seat | Aiwan-e-Sadr,Red Zone,Islamabad-44040 |
| Appointer | Electoral College |
| Term length | Five years renewable once |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Pakistan (1973) |
| Precursor | Monarch of Pakistan |
| Inaugural holder | Iskander Mirza |
| Formation | 23 March 1956; 69 years ago (1956-03-23) |
| Succession | Line of succession |
| Deputy | Chairman of the Senate |
| Salary | ₨847,000 per month[2][3] |
| Website | President of Pakistan |
Thepresident of Pakistan (Urdu:صدرِ پاکستان,romanized: s̤adr-i Pākistān) is thehead of state of theIslamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of theexecutive and thesupreme commander of thePakistan Armed Forces.[4][5] The presidency is a ceremonial position in Pakistan. The president is bound to act on advice of the prime minister and cabinet.Asif Ali Zardari is the current president since 10 March 2024.
The office of president was created upon theproclamation of Islamic Republic on 23 March 1956. The then servinggovernor-general,Major GeneralIskander Mirza, assumed office as the first president. Following the1958coup d'etat, the office ofprime minister was abolished, leaving the Presidency as the most powerful office in the country. This position was further strengthened when the1962 Constitution was adopted. It turned Pakistan into aPresidential Republic, giving all executive powers to the president. In 1973, thenew Constitution establishedParliamentary democracy and reduced the president's role to a ceremonial one. Nevertheless, themilitary takeover in 1977 reversed the changes. The8th Amendment turned Pakistan into asemi-presidential republic and in the period between 1985 and 2010, the executive power was shared by the president and prime minister. The18th Amendment in 2010 restoredParliamentary Democracy in the country, and reduced the presidency to a ceremonial position.[6]
The constitution prohibits the president from directly running thegovernment.[7] Instead, the executive power is exercised on his behalf by theprime minister who keeps him informed on all matters of internal andforeign policy, as well as all legislative proposals.[8] The Constitution however, vests the president with the powers of grantingpardons, reprieves, and thecontrol overmilitary; however, all appointments at higher commands of themilitary must be made by the President on a "required and necessary" basis, uponconsultation and approval from the prime minister.[9]
The president is indirectly elected by theElectoral 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 inIslamabad known asAiwan-e-Sadar (President's House). In his absence, thechairman of Senate exercises the responsibilities of the post, until the actual president resumes office, or the next office holder iselected.
There have been a total of14 presidents. The first president wasIskander Ali Mirza who entered office on 23 March 1956. The current office holder isAsif Ali Zardari, who took charge on 10 March 2024, following his controversial victory in the2024 election.
The official residence and principal workplace of the president isAiwan-e-Sadr— thepresidential palace located in northeasternIslamabad. The presidency forms the vital institutional organ of state and is part of thebicameralParliament.[10]
Powers to exercise the authority are limited to theceremonial figurehead, and required toaddress the Parliament to give a direction fornational policies before being informed of its key decisions.[11][12][13]
In addition, the president is also a civilcommander-in-chief of thePakistan Armed Forces, withchairman joint chiefs being its chief military adviser to maintain thecivilian control of the Pakistani military.[14] After a thorough confirmation comes from theprime minister, the president confirms thejudicial appointments in the nationalcourt system.[15][16] In addition, theConstitution allows the president to grantpardons, reprieves, and clemency in cases recommended to him by theexecutive and thejudiciary.[17] 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.[18]
There shall be a President of Pakistan who shall be theHead of State and shall represent the "unity of the Republic."
— Article 41 in Chapter 1: The President of Part III: The Federation of Pakistan in theConstitution of Pakistan, source[19]
Article 232: Emergency due to war, external or internal disturbance:
Article 233: Suspension of Fundamental Rights:
Article 234: Emergency due to the breakdown of constitutional machinery:
Article 235: Financial Emergency:
President can impose governor rule in any province. He can run provincial government directly.
He can use emergency powers on advice of Prime Minister and cabinet.
From 2000 until 2009, the President was theChairman of theNational Security Council who had authority and control over thenuclear and strategic arsenals; however, the chairmanship and the powers transferred back to theprime minister.[20] Furthermore, the presidentialpowers have significantly declined with Pakistan's government reversed to aparliamentarydemocraticrepublic.[21]
Before 18th Amendment[22] to the constitution 2010, President was quite powerful.
He had constitutional authority to choose and appoint Prime Minister in his discretion who got majiorty votes from National Assembly.
Due to Article 58-2(b) he had authority to dissolve National Assembly in his discretion when Government of Federation cannot be carried according to provisions of Constitution.President Zia Ul Haq,Ghulam Ishaq Khan andFarooq Leghari used this constitutional provision to dissolve elected Prime Minister's Government. The President is ceremonial head of state, Prime Minister is head of executive, but this provision made President more powerful than Prime Minister and Prime Minister was made subordinate to President. If there is any misunderstanding or disagreement between President and Prime Minister, President may use these powers to dismiss Prime minister and to dissolve National Assembly. Pakistan's Parliamentary system was changed to Semi Presidential system.
TheConstitution of Pakistan sets the principle qualifications that the candidate must meet to be eligible to the office of the president.[23] A president has to be:
Whenever theAiwan-e-Sadr becomes vacant, the selection of president is done by theelectoral college, which consists of both houses ofParliament (theSenate andNational Assembly) and thefourprovincial assemblies.[24] Thechief election commissioner has to conduct elections to the office of the president in a special session.[25]Voting takes place in secrecy.[26]
Each elector casts a different number of votes.[26] 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.[26] 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).[26]
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.[26]
The president iselectedindirectly for a term of five years.[27] The incumbent president is eligible for re-election to that office, but cannot hold that office for more than two consecutive terms.[28] The president is required to make and subscribe in the presence of thechief justice—, an oath or affirmation that the president shall protect, preserve and defend the Constitution as follows:
I, (The name of the President-elect), do solemnly swear that I am aMuslim and believe in theUnity, and Oneness of AlmightyAllah, theBooks of Allah, theHoly Qur'an being the last of them, theProphethood ofMuhammad (peace be upon him)as the last of the Prophets and that there can be no Prophet after him, theDay of Judgment, and all the requirements and teachings of theHoly Quran andSunnah:
That I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan:
That, as President of Pakistan, I will discharge my duties, and perform my functions, honestly, to the best of my ability, faithfully in accordance with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the law, and always in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, solidarity, well- being and prosperity of Pakistan:
That I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions:
That I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan:
That, in all circumstances, I will do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill- will:
And that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall become known to me as President of Pakistan, except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as President.
May Allah Almighty help and guide me (Ameen).[29]
The Constitution discusses the possibility of an acting president.[30] 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 president may be removed before the expiry of the term throughimpeachment. The president can be removed for violation of theConstitution of Pakistan.[32]
Theimpeachment process may start in either of the two houses of the Parliament. The house initiates the process by leveling the charges against the president.[33] The charges are contained in a notice that has to be signed by either thechairman or thespeaker of the National Assembly through atwo-thirds majority.[33] The notice is sent up to the president, and 14 days later it is taken up for consideration.[34]
A resolution to impeach the president has to be passed by thetwo-thirds majority.[35] Thespeaker of the National Assembly then summons the joint session not earlier than seven days.[36] The president has the right to defend oneself.[37]
If the resolution is passed by thetwo-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.[38]
No president has been impeached. However, the proceedings have been used in 2008 inan attempt to impeach former presidentPervez Musharraf who tendered the resignation after the proceedings above were used.[39]
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From 1947 until 1956, thegovernor-general of Pakistan acted for thehead of state: KingGeorge VI (until 1952) and QueenElizabeth II (from 1952). With the promulgation of thefirstconstitution, Pakistan became anIslamic republic in 1956, and the governor-general was replaced with the presidency. The incumbent governor-general,Iskander Mirza, became Pakistan's first president by1956 Pakistani presidential election. He reportedly suspended theConstitution of Pakistan of 1956 on 7 October 1958, and appointedCommander-in-Chief of the Pakistan ArmyGeneral Ayub Khan as the firstChief Martial Law Administrator. Two weeks later, Ayub Khan subsequently carried out the1958 Pakistani coup d'etat and assumed the presidency.
TheConstitution of Pakistan of 1962 introduced by President Ayub Khan, turned the country into apresidential republic withoutdirect elections. Succumbing to internal and international pressure, however, Khan held the1965 Pakistani presidential election. Khan successfully campaigned against his opponent,Fatima Jinnah, for a second term, but some have alleged that elections were rigged in favour of Ayub Khan.
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Controversy regarding theU-2 incident (1960),privatization (1963), andwar withIndia (1965), fueled a fierceleft-wing opposition movement led byZulfikar Ali Bhutto of thePPP andBengali nationalistSheikh Mujibur Rahman who, with the support of demonstrators, aimed to further weaken the presidency. Suffering fromparalysis and declining health, Ayub Khan handed over the presidency to army chief GeneralYahya Khan,who imposed martial law and announced that national elections would be held in 1970. Eventually,general elections were held in 1970 which saw thePPP gaining a majority of seats inWest Pakistan (current-day Pakistan) and theAwami League gaining a majority inEast Pakistan (current-day Bangladesh).
After he was unable to reach a compromise between the PPP and the Awami League, President Yahya Khan invitedNurul Amin of thePakistan Muslim League to become theprime minister, and also appointed him as the firstvice president. The growing instigated violence againstPakistanis in East Pakistan forced President Yahya Khan to useforce in order to maintainorder there, which further escalatedBengali resistance (1970).Preemptive strikes againstIndia led to anotherwar in 1971, whichfreedEast Pakistan and createdBangladesh.
Taking personal responsibility for the political isolation and devastation ofPakistan after thefall ofEast Pakistan, President Yahya Khan stepped down and ceded power toZulfikar Ali Bhutto. President Bhutto created the currentConstitution of Pakistan in 1973, transformingPakistan into aparliamentary democracy, and reducing presidential powers to that of a ceremonialfigurehead.
Thegeneral elections held in 1977 resulted in an atmosphere of civil unrest instigated by theright-wing alliance, thePakistan National Alliance. The events leading to it resulted inmilitary intervention bychief of army staff GeneralZia-ul-Haq andChairman Joint Chiefs AdmiralMohammad Shariff. Suspending theConstitution in 1977, General Zia-ul-Haq took over the presidency in 1978. Zia'spresidency oversaw the modern growth offar-right ideas in the country. Succumbing to domestic pressure to restore theConstitution, President Zia-ul-Haq held areferendum (1984) and called forgeneral elections in 1985. President Zia-ul-Haq appointedMohammad Junejo asprime minister and assumed morepowers through theconstitutional amendment. After dismissing Prime Minister Junejo, President Zia-ul-Haq announced that new general elections would be held, but President Ziadied in a plane crash in 1988.
Thegeneral elections held in 1988 witnessed the victory ofPPP in 1988 and appointed SenatechairmanGhulam Ishaq Khan to the presidency. The conflict between Prime MinisterBenazir Bhutto and President Ghulam Ishaq Khan arose in two areas regarding the issues of appointments. President Ghulam Ishaq Khan repeatedly intervened in government matters andleveled charges against Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto; thusdismissing Prime Minister Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 1990. After holdinggeneral elections in 1990,Nawaz Sharif brought up an ideologicallyconservative government and President Ghulam Ishaq Khan unsuccessfully tried to dismiss Sharif. After a successful intervention bySupreme Court andChairman of the Joint Chiefs GeneralShamim Allam, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif tendered resignations in 1993.
Following thenew elections held in 1993, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto established a strong government after appointing loyalistFarooq Leghari to the presidency. However, thecorruption charges and the controversial death ofMurtaza Bhutto in 1996 resulted in President Farooq Legharidismissing Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. In 1997, President Farooq Leghari could not overcome the heavy mandate bestowed on Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif by the public in1997. President Leghari unsuccessfully supportedChief JusticeSajjad Ali Shah— both of them resigned, ending the conflict between theJudiciary, theExecutive, and theParliament. After appointingRafiq Tarar, the Parliament successfully passedconstitutional amendment to decisively limit the presidency. After staging a controversialself coup in 1999, GeneralPervez Musharraf dismissed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Rafiq Tarar in 2001 while assuming morepowers to the presidency. In January 2004, theElectoral Collegeelected Musharraf, and as a result he was, according to the Constitution, "deemed to be elected".[40]
President Musharraf's repeated unconstitutional intervention resulted in a standoff with the Judiciary, and declared astate of emergency in 2007, after dismissing thesenior justices of the Supreme Court. Although Musharraf waselected in 2007, the constitutional legality of Musharraf's rule was found dubious. A populistconstitutional 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.[41][42]
After thepresidential election held in 2008,Asif Ali Zardari lobbied forconstitutional amendment to restore theConstitution as it was in 1973.[43][44][45][46] In 2010, theParliament unanimously and with a large majority, passed theeighteenth 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.
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