KARACHI, Sept 15 (INP): President Arif Alvi on Saturday visited the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi to pay homage to the Father of the Nation.

He was accompanied by Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and Sindh Minister for Local Government Saeed Ghani. The president laid a floral wreath at Quaid’s mausoleum, offered fateha and prayed for prosperity and progress of the country. He also inked his remarks on the visitors’ book.

After assuming office, this is his first visit to the port city. He arrived in Karachi on Friday night and was received by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Governor Imran Ismail and other significant personalities.

[timed-content-server show="09/16/2018 01:00 Asia/Karachi"]Instead of travelling from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), he preferred a private flight for his journey. He was taken to his residence in Muhammad Ali society from the airport’s VIP lounge. Despite refusing to accept protocol, his caravan included at least 42 vehicles. Shahrah-e-Faisal and other adjacent roads were closed for traffic and were opened after the president has passed from the area. President Arif Alvi on Saturday clarified that he was given a VIP protocol from the airport to his residence in Karachi despite his request to not be given a "huge protocol". After a video made rounds of the president being accompanied by over two dozen cars from Karachi airport, Alvi took to Twitter and said that he had only asked for two to four cars to accompany his. "The long chain of official cars following me is despite the fact that I asked all officials present at the airport not to embarrass me with a huge protocol and that one or two cars in front and one or two cars behind may satisfy their security needs. Did not happen. We have to try harder," he tweeted. The president's protocol also appeared to include more cars as in the video, the protocols given to Sindh chief minister and governor were also captured. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Sindh Governor Imran Ismail had gone to the airport to receive President Alvi as he returned to the metropolis for the first time since taking office. The president reportedly picked up his own luggage from the conveyor belt at the airport and also queued to board the airplane rather than opting for VIP facilities. Separately, when a Twitter user asked about the police mobiles stationed outside his house, President Alvi responded, "We should look into this too and not become a nuisance for my own neighbourhood where I have lived all my life." "I do not begrudge security but when it becomes painful for the common man we should draw a line somewhere," he added. INP/LK[/timed-content-server]