ISLAMABAD: President Dr. Arif Alvi Monday called on the political parties across the spectrum to sit together and resolve issues related to the economy and elections in a bid to end political polarization.
In an interview with a private television channel, he said dialogue was necessary for settling political issues between the government and the opposition and the Parliament was a suitable place for negotiations but talks could also be held outside it.
He said the country was facing multiple issues including inflation and debt burden and in the first phase dialogue could be started among second-tier leadership of the political parties to remove misunderstandings and to bring unity to the people.
People were concerned about the political polarization and one cause was that federal and provincial governments were led by different political parties, he viewed.
He said chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan had to decide about sitting with the government on issues of economy and elections.
To a question, Dr. Alvi said article six of the constitution could only be applied to those who abrogate or hold the constitution in abeyance with the use of force.
He said he had been criticizing the successive governments over the issues of press freedom and the weakening economy and his criticism was not limited to the present coalition government.
Talking about the role of army in the national affairs, the President said army was neutral and it did not have a role to play in political matters.
Replying to another question, he said however, the army should play its constitutional role such as it was performing during natural disasters and recent floods and while advising the government on foreign affairs.
However, politicians were the biggest stakeholders of the country and they should be seen to be playing their role as they were connected to the people, he observed.
The President was of the view that a broader consultation should be held on the issue of the appointment of the chief of army staff. The government should consult PTI chief Imran Khan on the matter.
He further said there was a possibility of early elections, adding in the past, the Pakistan Democratic Movement and PTI both wanted early polls. Even Supreme Court considered the issue of early elections and consulted the politicians.
“I am trying to evolve an understanding on these issues and I will facilitate the process. The most important issue is the holding of free and fair elections.”
The President said he advocated for the last 12 years, the introduction of the use of electronic voting machines in the elections and rigging on polling day could be stopped with these machines.
No elections since 1970 were considered free and fair, he remarked.
He said use of technology was a way to hold transparent elections and India had been using electronic machines since 1985.
To a question, he said Imran Khan got frustrated by the way his government was removed, so he refused to sit in the National Assembly.
Imran Khan went back to the people and gained more popularity because of his stance, he opined.
He said PTI could take another decision about its return to the National Assembly.
He emphasized that the right to protest should be ensured and no issue should be settled through the use of force.
The President called for an investigation into the issue of the cipher and reminded that the government of Pakistan had issued a demarche to the United States to convey that the words used in the cipher were not appropriate.
He said he was not convinced about a conspiracy for the removal of the government of Imran Khan but sent a letter on the issue of cipher to the chief justice to remove his doubts.
