New Pakistan president takes office!
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - September 9,
2008 - Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of the slain former Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto and a relative political novice, was sworn in as president of Pakistan
on Tuesday at a ceremony in the presidential palace here.
Mr. Zardari, whose reputation is marked by allegations of corruption that remain unproven, follows the path to power of his father-in-law, Zulfikar Bhutto, who was prime minister in the 1970s - he was hanged in 1979 - and his wife, who served two terms.
Mr. Zardari, 53, took the oath of office from Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, a controversial start to his rule since Mr. Dogar was appointed under an emergency decree by the former military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, and has remained in office with Mr. Zardari’s support.
Accompanying Mr. Zardari at the ceremony were his two daughters, Bakhtawar and Asifa, and his son, Bilawal, who has been named to succeed Mr. Zardari as leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party.
