Alvi says ready to play role for fresh polls, charter of economy

While offering his office for mediation, the president urges political parties to avoid subjecting the military to controversies by dragging it into political thicket

Amid growing political volatility, President Dr Arif Alvi has offered to reach out to both Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and his party boss and former premier Imran Khan to thaw the political impasse over a spate of thorny issues and find a broad consensus for fresh elections and a charter of economy.

While conditionally offering his good office for mediation, the president also urged political parties to avoid subjecting the military to controversies by dragging it into political thicket, reminding that the institution was the guarantor of national security.

He asserted that the military should be accorded its due respect and not targeted with controversial statements.

The president’s offer has come amid skyrocketing political mercury with relentless confrontations among stakeholders, charges of inciting mutiny in the armed forces against Imran Khan’s chief of staff and the economic woes let to bear the brunt of political wrangling.

In a meeting with journalists, Alvi emphasised the need for political parties and key stakeholders to sit together and initiate a consultative process to devise a plan for holding free and fair elections and developing a charter of economy.

Alvi said that all the institutions of the country were respectable and dear to him, adding he did not believe in generating any controversy.

He said the government and the opposition in and outside the National Assembly — mainly PTI — besides the relevant institutions should consider reducing the widening schism in the country.

“There is a need to initiate a consultative process to bring all important stakeholders to the table and listen to each other,” Alvi said.

However, he made it clear that the constitutional role of a president did not allow him to officially reach out to the stakeholders.

“It is the primary responsibility of the executive and the opposition in the assembly and outside the assembly and the relevant institutions to deliberate upon defusing the polarisation,” Alvi said.

“The political parties and stakeholders need to sit together and chalk out an agreed way forward, especially with regard to holding free and fair elections and developing a charter of economy that could help ease the current political polarisation and economic situation,” he added.

The people of Pakistan, Alvi said, had given him the responsibility of a president. “As a president, all the institutions were respectable and dear to him but there were many avenues where improvement can be made through a consultative process.”

Responding to a question, Alvi said that the stakeholders in Pakistan should only be involved in resolving the issues confronting the country without any involvement of any foreign persons or the country.

Alvi said he had a very cordial relationship with the incumbent government and he accorded timely approval to all the summaries except four summaries, which were delayed while remaining within the ambit of the Constitution.

He said that he had been the main proponent of the electronic voting machines (EVM) since long, even during the governments of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and later of Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-N).

Earlier, Imran has said that the doors of negotiations were always open, even with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

“We are ready to talk to PDM on everything ater they announce the date for the fresh elections,” he said, claiming that the PDM leadership was “confused” as due to their falling popularity they didn’t want snap polls.

Amid speculations that he may be disqualified for life under Article 62 (1)(f) in light of the Toshakhana and prohibited funding cases against him, ostensibly to pave the way for the return of Sharif to national politics, the former prime minister said he would not cut any deals to this effect. Imran made these remarks during the “Independence Diamond Jubilee Special” session on Zoom, which was atended by journalists and celebrities among others.

To a question, Imran said efforts were underway for a “technical knockout” and added that references in the Toshakhana case and prohibited funding case were part of a “Plan C” to remove him from the political scene.