President gets input on ‘grim’ situation from media persons

LAHORE: Emphasising the need for initiating a consultative process to bring all stakeholders on the table to listen to each other, President Arif Alvi said on Friday that developing a ‘Charter of Economy’ could help ease out the current political polarisation and economic situation. While talking to a group of media persons at Governor’s House, Dr Arif Alvi said as a president, all institutions of the country are respectable and dear to him, and he does not believe in generating any controversy with any of them.

“My purpose of media interaction was to get a qualified input from it on the prevailing political and economic situation and discuss possible ways and means to bring down the political temperatures in the country,” he said.

All institutions were respectable and dear to him and he did not believe in generating any controversy with them. However, he said there were many avenues where improvement could be made through a consultative process, he said, adding: “The constitutional role of the president did not allow him officially to reach out to the stakeholders.”

Dr Alvi maintained that it was the primary responsibility of the executive and the opposition in and outside the assembly and the relevant institutions to deliberate on the ways to defuse polarisation.

Responding to a question, he said through Mufti Taqi Usmani, he had offered the Afghan government to provide distance learning and virtual mode of education to the Afghan students, especially female students. He said Usmani, during his talks with Pakistani Taliban, told them that out of all constitutions of the Muslim world, the closest constitution to Islam was the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Regarding recent reports of Taliban resurgence in certain parts of the country, he said he did not have any opinion on it as according to reports the negotiations were under way. He said he was of the opinion that any such negotiations should be mandated by the parliament and might be pursued in confidence to reach some amicable outcome. The result should be reported back to the parliament before making them public, he added.

Alvi says strong economy needed for taking independent decisions

While agreeing with the views of a journalist, he said the political parties and stakeholders should sit together and chalk out an agreed upon way forward, especially with regard to holding free and fair elections in the country and improving economic situation.

Terming corruption as a major factor of backwardness of any country, he said one of the best ways to counter corruption was to make all financial transactions through formal banking channels, especially by political parties, while receiving and managing donations. To a query, he said he had a very cordial relationship with the current government and accorded timely approval to all the summaries except four summaries which were delayed.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022