ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah criticized President Dr. Arif Alvi and asked him to respect his constitutional stature as he has nothing to do with the date of elections.
The interior minister said in a statement that Alvi should work as the president of Pakistan and not as the spokesperson of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan.
The Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader said that the former prime minister had done unconstitutional work to the president, speaker, deputy speaker and governors earlier.
صدر کا الیکشن کی تاریخ کے اعلان سے کوئی سروکار نہیں، عارف علوی الیکشن کمیشن کے آئینی اختیار میں مداخلت کر رہے ہیں، عارف علوی فارن فنڈنگ کیس شریک جرم ہیں۔ عمران صدر کے منصب کے ذریعے الیکشن کمیشن کو دباؤ میں لانے کی کوشش کر رہا ہے۔
— Rana SanaUllah Khan (@RanaSanaullahPK) February 18, 2023
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He said that the Alvi were encroaching on the domain of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), lamenting that Khan was using the position of president to put pressure on the electoral body.
The federal minister said that President Alvi was an accomplice in the foreign funding case of PTI.
On the other hand, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said that the President should stay within his constitutional limits.
On Twitter, Asif Zardari said that the President should not cross the limits of ECP. “He [President Alvi] should not be politicized. He should remember that he was stripped of the constitutional post in 2018 as a result of the election/event.
عارف علوی صاحب اپنی آئینی اوقات میں رہیں.الیکشن کمیشن کی آئینی حدودمیں تجاوز نہ کریں. اور سیاست نہ کریں. اپنی نہیں تو اپنے عہدے کی عزت کا خیال کریں. یاد رکھیں وہ اس عہدےپہ 2018 میں ھونے والی سلیکشن/واردات کے نتیجے میں قابض ھوۓ. ریفرنس اور وارننگ کیلئے سپریم کورٹ کا فیصلہ حاضر ھے pic.twitter.com/H7o5y5nJEm
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) February 18, 2023
He also posted a quote from the Supreme Court judgment in his tweet as a “reference and warning”.
Meanwhile, while addressing a conference earlier, the President said that democracy can be strengthened by the implementation of the Constitution, so elections should be held as per the constitutional requirements.
Referring to the current situation in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Alvi said that he once again wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner for a meeting to announce the dates of elections in both provinces as per the constitutional requirement.
Dr. Alvi said that holding elections within 90 days of dissolution of any assembly is a constitutional requirement, so matters should be decided according to the constitution.
On February 8, President Alvi wrote to the ECP, urging the body to ensure that both provincial and national general elections are held within the constitutionally stipulated time.
The presidential office said at the time that “recent world history shows that delay threatens democracy.”
