President Asif Ali Zardari made history when he took oath of office as President in a western dress instead of the national dress ie Sherwani. Zardari entered the hall to take the oath as 14th President of Pakistan in a western suit. In marked contrast his son and Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was dressed in traditional Sherwani during the oath taking ceremony.
Critics of Zardari termed his choice of dress as an attempt to send a message to the West that he represented moderate Islam. President Zardari is the 14th President and the fourth President elected by PPP majority in parliament. Founding father of the PPP Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the first President of Pakistan, who took oath on December 20, 1971. He remained president till August 14, 1973.
Fazal Elahi Chaudhry was second PPP leader who became President on August 14, 1973 and remained in the office till September 16, 1978, in spite of Martial Law imposed by General Ziaul Haq on July 5, 1977. Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari was third PPP leader, who took over as President on November 14, 1993 and remained in office till resignation on December 2, 1997.
As Zardari wears dual hats - as president and party co-chairman - no Sword of Damocles is expected to be hanging over Parliament or the government over the abuse, yet again, of the controversial 58 (2) b. President Zardari is facing extremely challenging tasks on economic and political front.