ISLAMABAD, Nov 16: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Saturday took fresh oath for another five years in office secured through a referendum held in April this year.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Shaikh Riaz Hussain, administered the oath at a ceremony held at Aiwan-i-Sadar this morning, only two hours before the swearing-in ceremony of the newly-elected National Assembly.
(Justice Hussain was sworn in as chief justice under the provisional constitutional order.)
The ceremony was attended by Vice-Chief of Army Staff Gen Yousaf, services chiefs, federal ministers and a large number of diplomats.
The president was sworn in under the 1973 Constitution as amended by the Legal Framework Order promulgated by the president in August this year.
The government on Saturday officially notified the assumption of office of General Pervez Musharraf as the President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan under the Constitution of the country.
DPA ADDS: The swearing in ceremony bypassed the traditional right of the legislature to elect the president.
Political observers took it as a move by the civil and military establishment to retain its hold over real power. That task should be made easier by the divided nature of the new parliament, the October 10 elections returned a split mandate.
