ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi expressed optimism that the ongoing talks between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the ruling coalition would bring about a positive outcome.
In an interview with a private television channel, he advised politicians to let sense prevail and adopt forgiveness to improve the current situation.
President Alvi noted the trust deficit among politicians and highlighted the importance of mutual understanding and a steadfast judiciary in protecting the Constitution. He encouraged politicians to mobilize the masses to protect the Constitution and discouraged the practice of paralyzing it for the sake of power, which he called a “criminal enticement.”
Regarding education, President Alvi pointed out that around 32% or 27 million children in Pakistan are out of school, which he described as a major crisis. He suggested an out-of-the-box solution of using mosque spaces for teaching children and called for accelerated efforts in computing and artificial intelligence, an area where Pakistan has yet to make significant progress.
President highlights Pakistan’s success during COVID-19
President Alvi also spoke about First Lady Samina Alvi’s breast cancer campaign and emphasized the importance of frequent, focused, and short messaging to make an impact. He highlighted Pakistan’s success during the COVID-19 pandemic, which he attributed to societal cooperation and institutional collaboration.
On the issue of the 58 (2B) powers, President Alvi stated that these should not rest with the president, as the parliament was elected by the people. He also mentioned that he had returned seven to eight bills out of 270 received, citing reservations over bills related to NAB and overseas voting, among others.
Defending the use of electronic voting machines, President Alvi said that countries dealing with election rigging had been using it, and Pakistan also faced disputes over poll-related rigging after every election. He also clarified that he did not toe any party’s policy and made up his own mind on certain matters, including bills he had returned.
Finally, President Alvi spoke about the judiciary and emphasized that while judges could have differences on certain matters, their priorities should not change as the people have pinned hopes on them. He reiterated that the Constitution was supreme and should not be sidetracked by any means.
