Alvi Draws Ire for Assuming Role of ‘Broker’

Arif Alvi

Acting in Unconstitutional Capacity

Senators from the PML-N and PPP both criticized President Arif Alvi on Sunday for his comments regarding the choice of the army chief, with the former accusing him of following the instructions of his party chairman and the latter of acting in an unconstitutional capacity as a “broker.” 

“President Alvi’s offer to condition the appointment of the army chief with unanimity among all political parties was ludicrous,” remarked PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui. “The president should uphold the constitution rather than follow Imran Khan’s lead because it is he who has sworn to safeguard and uphold it.” 

Power to Name the Army Chief

He stated emphatically that in all democracies, the government has the power to name the army chief. 

“Neither controversy nor opposition prompted its inclusion in the consultation process for the purpose in the past,” the statement reads. 

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PPP’s narrative

The president should quit attempting to carve up “political space” for himself, according to PPP Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, as this is against the 1973 Constitution. “He is not an honest broker, hence the political stakeholders do not accept him for a political discussion. Due to false references he provided to justices of the superior courts, he (the president) cannot participate in an institutional conversation,” the former senate head noted. 

He claimed that the president has no such authority under the constitution and that the parliament will not permit him to play with the Constitution. 

Pakistan Democratic Movement

If the alliance had the necessary number of seats in the legislature, according to Mr. Rabbani, the Pakistan Democratic Movement should have impeached the president for evading the legislative process, sending references with “mala fide intent” against judges of the superior judiciary, making illegitimate appointments to autonomous and semiautonomous bodies on the advice of the then-prime minister that had to be overturned by courts, and failing to fulfill his constitutional duties under a “false” pretext.

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