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ISLAMABAD: President Dr. Arif Alvi, asking politicians to use common sense, expressed hope on Tuesday that the ongoing discussions between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the ruling coalition will result in a constructive outcome.
In an interview with a private television channel, the president stated that there is a lack of trust among lawmakers and advised them to practice forgiveness in order to fix the situation.
He claimed that no one could violate the Constitution if politicians worked together and the judiciary stood firm. He claimed that politicians were responsible for mobilizing the populace to defend the Constitution.
The president called it a “criminal enticement” and warned against paralyzing the Constitution for the sake of power.
Concerning his social work, the president stated that approximately 32% or 27 million children in Pakistan were not attending school, compared to 1% in India and Bangladesh, indicating a major crisis.
In terms of computing and artificial intelligence, he stated that Pakistan had yet to join the bandwagon and advocated for further efforts to have an effect.
Following an interaction, President Alvi stated that the Ulema had also expressed willingness to provide spaces at mosques for teaching children as an out-of-the-box solution to the crisis of out-of-school children.
In response to a question, the president stated that the powers of the 58 (2B) should not be vested in the president because the Parliament was elected by the people.
He told the journalist that he had returned seven to eight legislation out of 270 received because he had misgivings about them, including those pertaining to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), abroad voting, and others.
He stated that instead of dealing with NAB’s politicization, one should not deconstruct its entire structure.
The president stated that he had been calling for a long time to resolve the question of elections with a two to three month gap, since the polls would certainly have to be held.
He stated that the Constitution was ultimate and that there was no place for debating whether Parliament or the courts were more powerful.
However, he stated that the Constitution could not be jeopardized in any way.
President Alvi defended the use of electronic voting machines, saying that countries dealing with rigging concerns had been utilizing them, and that Pakistan, too, had disagreements over poll-related fraud after each election.
Rejecting the notion of following the policies of any political party, the president stated that he always made his own decisions on various issues, including the bills he had returned. However, he stated that he had discussed the appointment of a new army chief with PTI chief Imran Khan in order to reach an agreement.
In response to a query concerning the judiciary, President Alvi stated that while judges may disagree on certain issues, their objectives should not shift because the people have placed their trust in them.
