Tag: Arif Alvi

  • Judicial history made, Justice Ayesha officially elevated to Supreme Court

    Judicial history made, Justice Ayesha officially elevated to Supreme Court

    President Arif Alvi on Friday gave final approval to the elevation of Lahore High Court Justice Ayesha Malik as a judge of the Supreme Court (SC).

    Justice Ayesha will make history as the first female Supreme Court judge in the judicial history of Pakistan. She will be sworn into office on Monday, January 24, and her tenure will begin immediately. Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmad will administer the oath to Malik.

    Her oath-taking ceremony will be held at the Supreme Court. Judges of the Supreme Court, the attorney-general of Pakistan, and the advocate general will be in attendance.

    The Judicial Commission of Pakistan had on January 7 approved the elevation with a vote of five for and four against after a heated discussion on whether judges should be appointed based on merit or seniority.

    It is pertinent to mention here that Justice Ayesha Malik is ranked fourth in the Lahore High Court in terms of seniority.

    Justice Ayesha Malik’s name came to fame after her landmark judgment against the ‘two-finger test’ or two-finger virginity test of sexual assault survivors.

  • President, PM extend their wishes to the Christian community on Christmas

    President, PM extend their wishes to the Christian community on Christmas

    President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan have greeted the christian community on the occasion of Christmas.

    President and Prime Minister in separate messages, have assured that the government will continue to safeguard rights and privileges of all minorities living in the country, Radio Pakistan has reported.

    They also commended sincere and invaluable services rendered by the Christian community in the fields of defence, education, health as well as economic development of the country.

    They said that the government will empower the minorities to use their abilities for national development

  • ‘Poor judgment’, President Alvi reacts to promoting own family business

    ‘Poor judgment’, President Alvi reacts to promoting own family business

    President Dr Arif Alvi has regretted the choice of the place where his son Dr Awab Alvi signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bringing Smiles Unites States of America (USA) signatory ceremony. The MoU was signed at the Governor’s House.

    Taking to Twitter Alvi said, “For the signing ceremony of an MOU between Dr Awab [his son] and his friend in my presence, the venue selection was a matter of poor judgment.”

    Taking the president’s side, federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry tweeted, “The President is a very respected person, his honesty and personality is witnessed by everyone who knows him.”

    Earlier today, President Alvi’s son announced about the MoU on social media along with a picture in which Dr Arif Alvi and his wife can be seen standing along with their son.

    Despite Dr Awab’s clarification, an online debate was generated on whether there was a conflict of interest for the president or not.

    When the official website “Alvi Dentals” was checked, the president is still enlisted as a dentist and part of the Alvi Dental team. The website also provides an option to “schedule an appointment” with the president.

  • ‘Schedule a dental appointment’ with the President of Pakistan

    ‘Schedule a dental appointment’ with the President of Pakistan

    President Dr Arif Alvi’s son, Dr Awab Alvi, recently took to Twitter to announce that his family business, Alvi Dental, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bringing Smiles USA. 

    With the president in attendance, a debate started amongst netizens questioning if it was a direct conflict of interest for Alvi to be a president and promote the family business as well.

    After receiving backlash from Twitterati, Dr Awab Alvi clarified that his father had resigned from the family business after he became president.

    “The President resigned from Alvi Dental when he became President. This venture is between me & my Pakistani US diaspora dentist-alumnus friend,” tweeted Awab.

    Awab further tweeted, “President encourages all startups much smaller than ours & is on record to have hosted a startup in dentistry at Presidency last year.”

    However, when we checked the official website of “Alvi Dentals”, the president is still enlisted as a dentist and part of the Alvi Dental team. The website also provides an option to “schedule an appointment” with the president.

    Screengrab from the official website of Alvi Dental

    The Current talked to Shiagan Ijaz, a Lahore-based lawyer, to know if the matter was a conflict of interest for the president. “Yes, the perception that is being created very much puts the present scenario as a conflict of interest for the president.”

    “Even if it was a private venture, the president was present there, which certainly gives the impression and can be perceived as misuse of his office. So there has been a misuse of his authority here,” said Shaighan.

    The presidential oath also says, “As a President of Pakistan, I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct.”

  • DG ISI Lt Gen Faiz Hameed farewell visit to PM Khan, President Alvi

    DG ISI Lt Gen Faiz Hameed farewell visit to PM Khan, President Alvi

    Director-General (DG) of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Faiz Hameed paid farewell visits to Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, President Dr Arif Alvi, and Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Quershi.

    Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed will serve as DG ISI till November 19 and will then take charge as Peshawar Corps Commander.

    After several meetings and consultations between country administrations [government and army], PM Imran Khan had issued a notification on October 26 for the appointment of Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum as the new DG ISI who will take charge on November 20.

    Earlier today, Lt Gen Hameed and President Alvi met at the President House on Wednesday. The president appreciated the efforts and services of Lt Gen Hameed as DG ISI for the country’s security and expressed his best wishes for him on his appointment as Peshawar Corps Commander, reports Geo News.

    Lt General Faiz Hameed had a meeting with PM Imran Khan. PM Khan wished him well.

    Lt Gen briefly met FM Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Qureshi expressed his best wishes on his new appointment.

  • ‘That’s the spirit’: President Alvi praises Mohammad Rizwan for his performance despite bad health

    ‘That’s the spirit’: President Alvi praises Mohammad Rizwan for his performance despite bad health

    President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi has praised Mohammad Rizwan for his outclass performance in the semi-final against Australia despite the fact that he was was not well and admitted in hospital for two days before the match.

    Taking to Twitter, President Alvi wrote: “That’s the spirit. This is symbolic of the emerging ‘Brand Pakistan’. And my friends it is the new Pakistan.”

    Rizwan scored a half-century against Australia in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup, beating captain Babar Azam. He became the player who scored a thousand runs in the calendar year.

    He also broke the record of England’s Jos Buttler, who had just set it for the most runs by a keeper in a Men’s T20 World Cup. Buttler broke Craig Kieswetter’s record from 2010 in this year’s edition, had scored 269 runs to his name before England crashed out Thursday night in the semi-final.

  • ‘We have not been pressing for dialogue’: Opposition seeks written assurances from govt on legislation

    ‘We have not been pressing for dialogue’: Opposition seeks written assurances from govt on legislation

    Members of the united Opposition on Thursday met National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser twice and asked him to give them in writing the terms of engagements, which should include a categorical statement that it was the government that approached them for dialogue, reports Dawn.

    “We are going to communicate to the Speaker that he should give us in writing because we do not want to hear that we (the Opposition) have been pressing for a dialogue,” said the parliamentary leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in Senate Sherry Rehman.

    “The steering committee will consider further action after receiving legislation in writing from the Speaker regarding the bills and ordinances to be discussed in the joint session,” said Sherry. “We believe in the supremacy of parliament and dialogue but obviously, our leadership will take the final decision after the steering committee deliberations,” she added.

    Former Speaker NA Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said, “The Speaker called me and Naveed Qamar and said he wanted the government and the Opposition to sit down and talk about the 20 bills related to the ordinances. We responded that we will talk to the party leadership first.”

    The Opposition parties had formed a steering committee on Wednesday to formulate a joint strategy after the government postponed Thursday’s joint session of parliament.

    The Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari termed the government’s decision of postponing the joint session as their victory.

    “The hasty convening of the joint meeting and then the hasty adjournment shows the seriousness of the government that had made sensitive and serious issues like legislation a child’s play,” said Shehbaz.

    Bilawal said “Kaptaan bhag gaya” (the captain ran away), sharing President Arif Alvi’s notification for the postponement of the session.

  • Joint parliamentary session postponed: Fawad Chaudhry

    Joint parliamentary session postponed: Fawad Chaudhry

    Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter and announced that the joint parliamentary session, which was earlier called by President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday (November 11) has been postponed.

    Chaudhry said that electoral reforms are extremely important for the future of Pakistan. He said that the government wants a consensus on this issue, which is why Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser has been asked to contact the Opposition again and build a consensus on electoral reforms bill. Chaudhry added that this is why the joint session has been postponed.

    “We hope that the Opposition will seriously consider these important reforms and we will be able to come up with a common strategy for the future of Pakistan, ” he added.

    On the other hand, the “united” Opposition said they were certain that their members would be present at the joint session and had agreed to defeat the government bills on electoral reforms, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) ordinance and other bills.

  • Eid Milad-ul-Nabi: PM, President extend greetings to nation

    On the occasion of Eid Milad-ul-Nabi: Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Dr Arif Alvi, among others, have extended their greetings to the nation.

    Imran Khan, in his message said that the arrival of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) in the world brought a revolution in every aspect of human society, Radio Pakistan has reported.

    He said it was the affect of the life of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) that Arab tribes who were victims of internal chaos for centuries, emerged as a nation.

    The Prime Minister said in this state system, minorities were protected, poor and needy were taken care of and rights and obligations of the state and citizens were determined.

    He said the government has formed Rahmat-tulil-Aalameen Authority to apprise the people and the world about the life and teachings of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH).

    President Dr Arif Alvi in his message said that Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) united people for the Oneness of Allah Almighty and it is his character that made worst enemies as each other’s well-wishers.

    The President said that Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) established such a welfare state where the rich and poor enjoyed equal rights.

    Lauding the efforts of the present government in turning Pakistan into a model welfare state on the patterns of Riasat-e-Madina, President Alvi hoped that all resources will be utilized for this purpose.

  • Forgiving TTP: Never forget!

    Forgiving TTP: Never forget!

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the government is in talks with some groups of the banned militant outfit, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). In an interview with TRT World, PM Khan said there are different groups that form the TTP and some of them want to talk to our government for peace. “So, we are in talks with them. It’s a reconciliation process.” Before PM’s interview, both President Arif Alvi and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had talked about giving amnesty to TTP members if they lay down their arms and follow the Constitution of Pakistan.

    These statements warrant a lot of questions: why did the president, prime minister, and foreign minister disclose such important information in interviews to media outlets and not in parliament? TTP is no ordinary terrorist outfit. The entire country came together after the horrific APS attack in December 2014, in which more than 150 people were martyred – most of them children. All the political forces of Pakistan reached a consensus, after which the National Action Plan (NAP) came about. There was a massive crackdown on TTP and other terrorist outfits. We finally managed to eliminate the TTP in Pakistan. Those from the TTP who survived the crackdown ran away to Afghanistan. At that time, the government in Kabul was not friendly towards Pakistan.

    The state told us that the TTP was supported and funded by India and Afghanistan – when Ehsanullah Ehsan first surrendered to Pakistan, he confirmed in a video that Afghan and Indian intelligence agencies [RAW and NDS] gave funds and other assistance to Pakistani Taliban to fight Pakistan. Last year, after sharing a dossier containing ‘irrefutable proofs’ of Indian funding of terrorism in Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said: “The [specific] evidence presented by Pakistan provides a concrete proof of Indian financial and material sponsorship of multiple terrorist organisations, including UN-designated terrorist organisations Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Balochistan Liberation Army and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.”

    What is the reason for Pakistan to hold talks with a RAW and NDS-funded/supported terrorist outfit when we have broken its back in our country? And now that we have a friendly government in Kabul, what is the need to hold talks with an enemy outfit? Should the Afghan Taliban not help reign in the TTP and take action against those who are carrying out attacks against Pakistan from Afghan soil? Or, is it true that the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistani Taliban both have the same ideology, even if the targets of their attacks are different? The people of Pakistan – who have been killed and maimed by the TTP over the years – deserve an answer.

    The government needs to be transparent. This decision cannot be taken just by the government alone. All political parties must have a debate on this issue and the people of Pakistan have to be taken on board as well. We cannot forget what the TTP did to our nation. We lost more than 70,000 lives at their hands. There must be a consensus about the talks and also the government should be transparent about the negotiations. Don’t keep us in the dark, dear government, for we were told that we will never forget their heinous crimes.