The husband of Pakistan's assassinated former leader Benazir Bhutto was sworn in as the country's new president today.
Asif Ali Zardari took office following a brief ceremony at the presidential palace recently vacated by Pervez Musharraf, who resigned under growing pressure last month.
Dignitaries at the packed ceremony cheered "Bhutto is alive!" as the inauguration came to a close.
Among the guests were Zardari's son Bilawal - co-chairman of the Pakistan People's party (PPP) – and his two daughters, Bakhtawar and Asifa. Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai also attended.
The swearing in of Zardari, 53, completes Pakistan's return to civilian rule nearly nine years after then-army chief Musharraf seized power in a bloodless military coup.
Musharraf became heavily relied upon by the US in its efforts to capture or kill al-Qaida leaders following the 9/11 attacks on America.
Despite some cooperation between the two countries, however, the Taliban were able to regroup during Musharraf's leadership.
Today, al-Qaida chiefs Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri remain on the run, believed to be in hiding somewhere in Pakistan's uncontrolled frontier region with Afghanistan.
Zardari has made tough statements against Islamic extremism, and Pakistan's army says it continues to attack rebel positions in operations in the country's volatile north-west.
In the latest fighting earlier today, seven militants were killed in the north-western Bajur region. Officials also reported that six civilians, including three children, died when mortar shells hit two houses overnight in the same region. It was not clear who fired the mortar rounds.
Many Pakistanis blame the rising violence in the country on Musharraf's previous close alliance with Washington.
The former president reluctantly quit on August 18 to avoid the threat of impeachment at the hands of a coalition of parties who routed his supporters in the February parliamentary elections.
Zardari claimed a two-thirds majority when lawmakers chose among the three presidential candidates on Saturday.
He secured 481 votes out of 702, far more than the 352 votes needed to guaranteed him victory.
He now faces the immediate task of cracking down on Islamic militants operating in the country and addressing Pakistan's worsening economic difficulties.
Ordinary Pakistanis are calling on the government to tackle runaway inflation and massive power shortages. Economists are calling for urgent action to resolve slowing growth and investment as well as fast-depleting foreign currency reserves.