ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has asserted that he and the government had no contact with the Establishment for over a month, condemning the arrest of former information minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry, ARY News reported on Thursday.
In conversation with senior journalists, the President noted that no progress was made by the incumbent government in negotiations in the past month and a half.
“Imran Khan was ready to hold talks with the government,” President Alvi maintained, holding the incumbent rules responsible for the lack of negotiations.
President Alvi also stated that he had no contact with the establishment for over a month, adding: “I had told Finance Minister Ishaq Dar that the Establishment had said it did not want to interfere in politics.”
Fawad Chaudhry’s arrest
The president also deplored the manner in which PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry was presented in the Islamabad court, lambasting the officials for covering the former minister’s head with a white sheet and also handcuffed him.
He further said that Fawad was arrested for speaking about democracy, adding that institutions shouldn’t need police to maintain their respect. “If someone has an issue with me, then I will improve my performance instead of asking the police to take action,” he added.
President Alvi warned the government against using “minus-one formula” against former premier and PTI Chairman Imran Khan, saying that such tactics had never succeeded in Pakistan.
It is pertinent to mention here that Islamabad police arrested Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader and former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry from his residence for ‘threatening’ Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) members.
Read More: Fawad Chaudhry remanded in police custody for two days
The first information report (FIR) was lodged against him for using ‘threatening’ language against the ECP and its members.
The PTI leader has been booked under sections 153-A (promotion of enmity between groups), 506 (criminal intimidation), 505 (statement conducing to public mischief) and 124-A (sedition) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Elections
Referring to the staging of elections in Punjab, President Arif Alvi said he spoke to Punjab Governor Baligh Ur Rehman about issuing a date for the polls. “The Governor has assured that he would fulfill the duties as per the constitution,” he added.
“The governor told me that had he signed on the summary to dissolve the elections, only then would he have issued a date for the elections,” the president mentioned. “Some people think, elections can be delayed by keeping the constitution aside,” he noted.
A day earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) wrote letters to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governors regarding the holding of elections in both provinces.
The ECP in its letters to Punjab and KP governors suggested dates for holding elections in both provinces. The ECP has recommended Governor Baligh ur Rehman to hold elections in Punjab between April 09 to 13.
Similarly, the election body has recommended the KP governor for holding elections in the province between April 15 to 17, according to the ECP letter.
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