ISLAMABAD: Arif Alvi, one of the founding members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has been nominated as its presidential candidate, PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry announced on Twitter on Saturday.
The 70-year-old Alvi is a dentist by profession. He began his political career as a polling agent but quickly assumed other responsibilities and has successfully fought general elections in the past.
In May 2013, he was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan as a PTI candidate from Karachi’s NA-250. In last month’s elections, he was re-elected to the country’s lower house of parliament from NA-247.
Alvi is generally viewed as a hardworking legislator, though he has been nominated for a post that is largely ceremonial. He is also counted among Imran Khan’s closest confidants and served as General Secretary of the PTI from 2006 to 2013.
Pakistan’s Election Commission has announced that the next presidential election will be held on September 4, just a few days before incumbent President Mamnoon Hussain’s five-year term comes to an end.
