Tag: President Arif Alvi

  • National Assembly dissolved: hunt for caretaker PM underway

    President Dr Arif Alvi, late on Wednesday, dissolved the National Assembly on the counsel of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.

    The prime minister’s decision to dissolve the assembly was swiftly acted upon, with the president endorsing the summary earlier presented by PM Shehbaz Sharif for the dissolution.

    However, despite this dissolution, Shehbaz Sharif will remain at the helm of affairs as prime minister until the nomination of a caretaker premier.

    This dissolution now mandates the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to organise general elections within the subsequent 90 days, as per constitutional requirements.

    Reinforcing this, the Senate, earlier in the day, passed a resolution urging the ECP to ensure preparations for the impending general elections occur within the constitutionally stipulated timeframe.

  • Sanjrani takes charge as acting president after Alvi leaves for Hajj

    Sanjrani takes charge as acting president after Alvi leaves for Hajj

    Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani has taken charge as acting president after President Arif Alvi left for Saudi Arabia to perform the religious obligation of Hajj.

    According to the constitution, the Chairman of the upper house of the parliament can take charge as acting president in the absence of a President from Pakistan.
    Sanjrani took charge of the office in Quetta, and the Cabinet Division has also issued a notification in this regard.

    Sanjrani is in Quetta to attend the funeral of his aunt.
    Sanjrani is the youngest Chairman of the Senate from Balochistan.

  • Imran Khan says he is not naraaz with Arif Alvi

    Imran Khan says he is not naraaz with Arif Alvi

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has denied reports of cutting off contacts with President Dr Arif Avli. When asked by Geo News reporter Haider Sherazi, Imran Khan said, ”Arif Alvi kia kisi se naraz hoskta ha? (Can Arif Alvi be angry at anyone?)”

    On Tuesday, a reporter of We News claimed that Imran Khan is leaving President Alvi’s messages on seen, suggesting that the former PM has cut off ties with the President. The reporter also said that both were last in contact on May 24.

    He further said that two days after the last contact, on May 26, President Arif Alvi signed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023.

  • ‘Backbone of our economy’: President, PM Shebaz pay rich tribute to workforce on Labour Day

    ‘Backbone of our economy’: President, PM Shebaz pay rich tribute to workforce on Labour Day

    On Monday, President Dr. Arif Alvi remarked that the observance of this year’s International Labour Day is an opportunity to reaffirm the significance of labour and recognise the brave and heroic struggle of workers to secure their basic rights. He also paid tribute to the workers who fought for their rights with great courage and dedication. The President’s statement emphasizes the importance of upholding the dignity of labor and acknowledging the efforts of workers in achieving their rights.

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif in a sperate message stated that ensuring labour rights and providing people with a stake in the system are still significant challenges for the global economy.

    “While we pay rich tributes to the working classes & celebrate their contributions today, the fact is that the disruption in global markets has led to a severe cost of living crisis. Together with increase in commodity prices, the working people find themselves under tremendous stress,” he wrote.
    “The edifice of material development that stands on the foundation of hard work will come crumbling if those who made it possible are excluded from its benefits. Fulfilling the labour rights & making people shareholders in the system remains a fundamental challenge for the global economy,” he added.

  • ‘Tell Khan to give in’: Yasmin Rashid allegedly asks President to intervene and talk to Khan

    ‘Tell Khan to give in’: Yasmin Rashid allegedly asks President to intervene and talk to Khan

    Amidst the clash between police, rangers and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters, a second alleged audio leak of former provincial Health Minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid has surfaced online.

    In the alleged audio, Rashid is in conversation with President Dr Arif Alvi, asking him to intervene in the crisis at Zaman Park.

    The audio leak is transcribed as follows;

    Rashid: Sir, the situation is very bad here.

    Dr Alvi: Yes, absolutely.

    Rashid: Our workers have started throwing Molotov cocktails. Before bloodshed takes place, I think you need to talk to someone and intervene.

    Dr Alvi: I have talked.

    Rashid: You should tell him that you will talk to him and try to sort… to Khan sahab.

    Dr Alvi: I don’t understand what you’re saying.

    Rashid: Sir, the situation right now is that people may die, some policemen will be killed. The situation will worsen so much that the elections will be postponed. This was our purpose.

    Dr Alvi: Okay.

    Rashid: I think what you need to do is, tell him [Khan sahab], that he should give in and fight another day. This is what I think and the rest is up to you. He will not give up.

    Rashid: Petrol bombs were thrown. I am intentionally sitting outside. I had to call people.

    Dr Arif: Let me consult Asad Umar.

    Rashid: I talked with Asad, he asked me not to say anything. We both are sitting outside.

    Dr Alvi: Okay.

    Rashid: I think you should talk with Shah Saab [Shah Mahmood Qureshi]. He is sitting inside with Khan.

    Dr Alvi: Okay.

    Earlier in the day, Rashid in another alleged audio leak told former Federal Minister for Narcotics Ejaz Shah that Khan Sahib has said at that it is time to call all MNAs and MPAs.

  • PPP, PML-N, JUI-F request SC to constitute full bench minus judges Ijaz ul Ahsan, Mazhar Naqvi

    PPP, PML-N, JUI-F request SC to constitute full bench minus judges Ijaz ul Ahsan, Mazhar Naqvi

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Jamat-e-Ulema Islami-Fazl (JUI-F) on Saturday requested the Supreme Court (SC) to constitute a full bench to hear the suo moto proceedings of election date for Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    However, as per their request, the three parties have asked that Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan & Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi are excluded from the full bench.

    PDM asks Justice Ahsan, Justice Naqvi to recuse themselves from SC bench

    Earlier, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition government has on Friday asked Supreme Court’s Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi to “recuse themselves” from a larger bench that is hearing suo motu

    The request was presented in a joint statement by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamat-e-Ulema Islami-Fazl (JUI-F), read by lawyer Farooq H Naek, on behalf of the three parties when the nine-member bench resumed the hearing of the suo motu notice today. 

    “All three political parties respectfully request that the two-member bench’s order of suo motu notice is available. Hence, both judges should not sit on the bench in the context of the provision of justice and fair trial,” Naek told the court.

    The PDM lawyer requested Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi to recuse themselves from the nine-member bench currently hearing the suo motu notice.

    Naek replied that he did not want to go into the details, adding that he also believed that the case should be heard by a full-court bench.

    At that, CJP Bandial said that the court will first discuss the admissibility of the request.

    Supreme Court raises questions on dissolution of Punjab and KP assemblies

    Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah of the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday raised questions on the dissolution of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies.

    Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial said that the SC will not tolerate the violation of the Constitution as the top court began its suo motu hearing to determine who has the constitutional responsibility to announce the date for elections of a provincial assembly.

    At the outset of the hearing, the court observed that the authority for giving the date of the elections after the dissolution of the assembly needs clarification.

    It stated that the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assemblies were dissolved on January 14 and 17, respectively, and the elections have to be held in 90 days after the assembly dissolution under Article 224/2.

    The SC remarked that Punjab Governor Baligh ur Rehman says that he has not dissolved the provincial assembly on the chief minister’s advice.

    “It will be determined through the suo motu case that who has the authority to give the election date,” the court remarked.

    It said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had also complained about not getting the funds for polling day.

    The Chief Justice observed that elaboration was needed on the issue of elections and assured all the parties that the court would listen to their arguments.

    “We have suspended our schedule for the next week so that we can hear this case,” CJP Bandial said.

    CJP Bandial said that the court will restrict itself to essential things, adding that the detailed hearing of the case will be held on Monday.

    CJP Bandial initiates suo motu action, constitutes nine-judge bench on Punjab, KP polls today

    A nine-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial will hear the suo motu notice of an apparent delay in the elections of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies today (Thursday).

    CJP Bandial on Wednesday evening initiated a suo motu proceeding to determine who has the constitutional responsibility and authority to announce the date for elections for a provincial assembly.

    The bench, headed by CJP Bandial, will consist of Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah. The case will be taken up on Thursday (today) at 2pm.

    According to the apex court’s statement, the bench will assess who is eligible to issue the date for polls, the constitutional responsibility of the federation and provinces and who will fulfil the constitutional responsibility of conducting elections and when.

    “It is the government’s responsibility to conduct elections in Punjab and KP according to the Constitution,” the top court’s statement read.

    The Supreme Court added that the two provincial assemblies were dissolved on January 14 and 18, respectively. 

    “Under Article 224 (2), polls should be held within 90 days of the assembly dissolution. The Constitution mandates that polls be held within 90 days.”

    The Supreme Court had taken suo motu notice on Wednesday two days after President Dr Arif Alvi fixed April 9 as polling day for the provincial assemblies.

     

  • ‘Institute immediate inquiry against Gen Bajwa’: Khan writes letter to Alvi

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Thursday asked President Arif Alvi to “institute an immediate inquiry” against former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) retired General Qamar Javed Bajwa for violating “his oath of office repeatedly” as the army chief.

    “Some very disturbing information has now come into the public domain whereby it is clear that Gen retd Bajwa as COAS violated his oath of office repeatedly,” Khan stated in a letter written to Alvi.

    PTI leader Shireen Mazari also announced the decision to ask for the inquiry on Twitter, sharing pictures of the said letter.

    Citing Javed Chaudhry’s column, Khan wrote that Gen Bajwa had “admitted to journalist Javed Chaudhry that ‘we’ considered Imran Khan [to be] dangerous to the country if he continued to stay in power”.

    He added that it would be “critical to ascertain” from Gen Bajwa that who did he refer to as “we”. The former premier raised the question, “Who gave him (Gen Bajwa) the power to decide that an elected prime minister (Imran) was supposedly a ‘danger to the country if he continued to stay in power’?”

    The former premier then went on to refer to a YouTube vlog made by political commentator Aftab Iqbal. He said according to Iqbal, “Gen Bajwa told him (Iqbal) in conversation that he had tapes of then-PM Imran Khan’s conversations with him”.

    Khan called it a “serious violation” of the former army chief’s oath as well as of his own fundamental human rights. “The question is why and under what authorisation was Gen Bajwa recording confidential conversations?” he asked.

    “I would also point out that Chapter II of the Constitution describes the mandate of the Armed Forces and specifically refers to Articles 243 and 244. Therefore it is your Constitutional duty as President and as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces to take immediate action and institute an inquiry so as to establish whether such grave violations of the Constitution and oath of Office under the Constitution have taken place.”

    Imran Khan alleged that Gen (retd) Bajwa violated his oath when he publicly went against the then government’s policy of maintaining neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine war.

    “He did this at an international conference in Islamabad on 2 April 2022 — the Islamabad Security Conference. I would like to point out that the govt policy was arrived at after developing a consensus of all stakeholders including MOFA and retired diplomats who had the relevant experience and were area specialists,” he wrote.

  • Explain restrictions on women praying inside mosque, President Alvi asks Faisal Mosque administration

    President Dr Arif Alvi, expressing his concern over restrictions on women fto offer prayers inside Faisal Mosque, has sought explanation from the concerned authorities.

    “This is my opinion which is based upon observation throughout the world, including the Harmain Sharifain,” he said according to a statement issued by the Presidency on Tuesday.
    The president made the statement while taking note of a special report highlighting the problem published in Dawn News.

    Capital Development Authority has claimed in its report to the Presidential Secretariat that it had taken steps to ensure cleanliness, perform maintenance, and clear the area of beggars, but Dawah Academy, International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) policy stated that only one gallery was set aside for women after the mosque was built. The report added that women were not allowed to enter the main hall.

  • President Alvi stresses on women empowerment in sparsely attended session

    President Alvi stresses on women empowerment in sparsely attended session

    Addressing a joint session of the parliament on Thursday, President Dr Arif Alvi stressed on empowerment of women in Pakistan, saying that opportunities should be made for them.

    Addressing a sparsely attended session, the President said that women should feel safe in public spaces and men in society can contribute to that. He pointed out that women in Pakistan can contribute a greatly to society.

    Moreover, the president said that women should be given chances to work in public offices and urged lawmakers to work on eliminating harassment.

    His remarks were addressed to a mostly empty hall, with legislators from both treasury and Opposition benches choosing to skip the session.

    Dr Alvi warned against neglecting youth as he called for the inclusion of children who were out of school and urged lawmakers to focus on it.

    “I have spoken to ulema that mosques should have sessions to provide school education. If you can’t provide education to children, give them skills,” he highlighted.

    Talking about the flood situation in Pakistan, the president, “I want to felicitate the Pakistan Army for helping victims while sacrificing their lives. The federal and provincial governments, PDMA (Provincial Disaster Management Authority), and NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority) all worked hard on the ground. I thank all of them.”

    He said that the recent floods had, once again, raised the demand for building dams. Furthermore, he pointed out that if the relief work is not done on time, human and economic losses from the floods would be higher.

    “The Netherlands is 19 times smaller than Pakistan but it has progressed in agriculture, and my country should have progressed more in this field. If we adopt a scientific approach, Pakistan can beat the world,” he stated.

    Talking about foreign affairs in his speech today, the president lauded the government for improving ties with the United States (US). On China, the president said, “I believe the Pakistan-China friendship is a real one and CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) is an example of it.”

    At one point during his address, the president also called for the continuation of the work on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), saying “We shouldn’t delay this”.

    President Alvi was set to address the joint session on August 14, but due to the apprehensions of the coalition government, the address was postponed.

  • ‘Jhoot mein bolna nahi chahta, sach mein bol nahi sakta’: Imran Khan avoids confirming his meeting with COAS Bajwa

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan responded to speculation about his meeting with the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, as was reported by some journalists recently.

    On ARY News’ programme “Sawal Yeh Hai” with Maria Memon, when asked about the meeting, he said, “Jhoot mein bolna nahi chahta, sach mei bol nahi sakta”, (I don’t want to lie and I can’t tell the truth). However, he was of the view that negotiations should be held.

    Earlier, there was speculation that Khan had a meeting with COAS last month. The meeting was arranged by President Arif Alvi and was held at the President’s House in Islamabad. Reportedly, Khan and the COAS could not reach an agreement, but Khan toned down his rhetoric pertaining to the establishment after the meeting.

    About his recent audio leaks, Khan revealed that the first audio leak between him and his then-principle secretary Azam Khan was a telephonic conversation. According to him, he hasn’t listened to the second audio leak. “I can’t comment on it”, he responded.

    However, when asked that in this second audio leak he [Khan] insisted his party members use the word “letter” instead of “cipher”, the PTI Chairman said that there is nothing wrong with it as the general public wouldn’t have been able to understand the word cipher.

    About the controversial cipher, Khan said he had not made the cipher public at once because at the time, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting was in progress in the capital and it would have been inappropriate to share the cipher then.

    He said that these leaks are a security breach as the secure line Prime Minister’s (PM) Office got leaked.

    During the interview, Khan said that he is always ready to be arrested. “These people don’t have democracy and morality in them”, he added.

    According to the former PM, when he gets disqualified, the government will hold elections.

    He termed his Toshkhana case as “open and shut”. He said he did nothing wrong in the case which is pending against him in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP.)

    It is pertinent to mention here that Khan is accused of selling state gifts and failing to disclose their value in his annual tax returns.

    Speaking about the upcoming long march, Khan said the date would be announced within a week. He said Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Pervaiz Elahi is an ally of the PTI and he would support the party in its march.

    About the departure of for­­mer premier Nawaz Sha­rif to London during the PTI government on medical grounds, Imran Khan commented that when Nawaz Sharif went out of the country, he came to realise that “Everything is possible” in Pakistan.

    “Unfortu­na­tely our justice system is weak due to which these people are benefitting,” he said in a comment on the cases agai­nst his political opponents.