1. Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi is a Pakistani politician who served as the 13th president of Pakistan, in office from 2018 to 2024.
41 Facts About Arif Alvi
1. 2.
Arif Alvi was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2013 to May 2018 and again from August to September 2018.
3.
Arif Alvi was elected to the National Assembly, from NA-250 Karachi-XII in 2013 and was re-elected in 2018 from NA-247 Karachi South-II.
4.
Arif Alvi was later nominated as the PTI's candidate for the presidential election.
5.
Arif Alvi was elected as the 13th President of Pakistan after defeating Fazal-ur-Rehman and Aitzaz Ahsan, after which he resigned from the National Assembly and was sworn into office on 9 September 2018, succeeding Mamnoon Hussain.
6.
Arif Alvi's father, Habib-ur-Rehman Elahi Alvi, was a dentist in Delhi, British India who migrated to Karachi after the establishment of Pakistan, and opened a dental clinic in Saddar Town.
7.
Arif Alvi completed his early education in Karachi, and moved to Lahore in 1967 for education in dentistry.
8.
Arif Alvi received a Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree from De'Montmorency College of Dentistry.
9.
Arif Alvi completed his master's degree in prosthodontics from the University of Michigan in 1975.
10.
Arif Alvi received a master's degree in orthodontics in 1984 from the University of the Pacific in San Francisco, California.
11.
In 1981, Arif Alvi was Chairman of the first Pakistan International Dental Conference.
12.
Arif Alvi became Patron of the Fifth Pakistan International Dental Conference.
13.
In 1997, Arif Alvi became a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics.
14.
Arif Alvi prepared the constitution of the Pakistan Dental Association and went on to become its president.
15.
Arif Alvi served as Chairman of the 28th Asia Pacific Dental Congress.
16.
Arif Alvi served as Dean of the Faculty of Orthodontics of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan.
17.
Arif Alvi began his political career as a polling agent and joined a religious party.
18.
Arif Alvi became politically affiliated with Islami Jamiat Talaba, a student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan and went on to become president of the student union.
19.
Arif Alvi became politically active after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto announced the 1977 Pakistani general election.
20.
Arif Alvi ran for a seat on the Provincial Assembly of Sindh as a candidate of the JI from a constituency in Karachi in 1979 but was unsuccessful.
21.
Arif Alvi participated in preparing the party constitution of PTI.
22.
Arif Alvi remained a member of the PTI central executive council for a year before becoming president of PTI's Sindh chapter in 1997.
23.
Arif Alvi ran for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh as a candidate of PTI from Constituency PS-89 in the 1997 Pakistani general election, but was unsuccessful.
24.
Arif Alvi came in third receiving 2,200 votes and lost the seat to Saleem Zia.
25.
Arif Alvi ran for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh as a candidate of PTI from Constituency PS-90 in the 2002 Pakistani general election, but was unsuccessful.
26.
Arif Alvi came in at sixth place securing 1,276 votes and lost the seat to Umer Sadiq, a candidate of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal.
27.
Arif Alvi was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan as a candidate of PTI from Constituency NA-250 in the 2013 Pakistani general election.
28.
Arif Alvi was implicated in cases stemming from the 2014 attacks on Parliament House and Pakistan Television Corporation.
29.
Arif Alvi was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PTI from Constituency NA-247 in the 2018 Pakistani general election.
30.
Arif Alvi received 91,020 votes and defeated Syed Zaman Ali Jaffery, a candidate of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan.
31.
Arif Alvi received 352 electoral votes and defeated Fazal-ur-Rehman and Aitzaz Ahsan who secured 184 and 124 votes, respectively.
32.
Arif Alvi became the third President of Pakistan whose family migrated to Pakistan from India after the Partition of India.
33.
On 8 September 2023, Arif Alvi marked the conclusion of his five-year term as the country's fourth democratically elected president.
34.
Arif Alvi was criticized for this move and the Supreme Court declared Arif Alvi's decision "contrary to the Constitution and the law and of no legal effect".
35.
However, in a surprising disclosure, Arif Alvi later revealed that he withheld his signature on these bills due to his disagreement with their provisions.
36.
Arif Alvi further asserted that his staff at the President House had acted against his directives, undermining his authority.
37.
In March 2024, Arif Alvi faced criticism for violating the Constitution when he delayed summoning a session of the National Assembly for newly elected MNAs to take oath following the 2024 Pakistani general election.
38.
Arif Alvi waited until the last moment to do so after twice rejecting summaries from the caretaker prime minister, citing concerns over the allocation of reserved seats to PTI.
39.
The Friday Times wrote that Arif Alvi's presidency was marked by a troubled legacy riddled with controversies and disputes with elected governments and state institutions.
40.
Arif Alvi was often viewed as a president who closely aligned himself with his party, the PTI, rather than serving as a unifying figure for the nation.
41.
The News in its editorial wrote that despite criticism from legal experts, the judiciary, and political opponents, Arif Alvi's presidency faced allegations of prioritizing party interests over national concerns.