President Asif Ali Zardari has decided not to take a salary from the government owing to the economic challenges being faced by the country.

His decision was announced via a statement by the President Secretariat Press Wing on Tuesday.

“He took this decision to encourage prudent financial management in the country. The President considered it essential not to burden the national exchequer and preferred to forgo his salary,” the statement read.

A post by the President of Pakistan account on X, formerly Twitter, also detailed his intentions for taking the crucial step.

“The purpose of President Asif Zardari’s decision is to encourage prudent financial management in the country,” the post stated.

It added that the president has advised against burdening the national treasury, preferring not to take salary.

President Zardari, who was elected as the 14th president of the country with a big margin on March 9, took oath as the head of state a day later.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa administered the oath to the newly-elected president at the swearing-in ceremony that took place at the Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad.

Zardari, who was the joint candidate of the ruling alliance, was elected as the country’s president for the second time after defeating the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) candidate Mahmood Khan Achakzai by a huge margin.

This is the second time Zardari has won the presidency. He earlier served as the 11th president of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013 and has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since August 2018.

Born in 1955, Zardari was brought up and educated in Karachi. He was married to Pakistan’s former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s daughter, Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in December 2007.

Zardari will replace Dr Arif Alvi, who stayed in office for five more months despite completing his five-year term in September 2023.