Pakistan's new President Arif Alvi was sworn in at a ceremony in Islamabad yesterday, concluding the country's peaceful transfer of power to its new government after a turbulent election campaign.

His appointment further cements the ruling party's power after controversial polls in July, which were tainted by claims of military meddling and ballot rigging, saw former cricket champion Imran Khan elected prime minister.

Arif Alvi, a close ally of Khan and one of the founders of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, becomes Pakistan's 13th president, replacing Mamnoon Hussain. A vote this week saw him elected by more than a thousand lawmakers from both houses of parliament and the four provincial assemblies. He is among the founding members of the ruling PTI party.

Alvi, a dentist by profession, was born in 1949 in the southeastern port city Karachi, two years after his family migrated to Pakistan following the end of British colonial rule. In 2013, Alvi won the first National Assembly seat from Karachi, which he retained in the recent July 25 general election. However, the prime minister nominated him as his party's candidate for the office of the president.