LAHORE: Former President of Pakistan and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Arif Alvi has said that Pakistan lost billions of rupees due to the regime change; however, our system is not interested in holding the responsible people accountable.
He expressed these views while addressing a press conference here on Tuesday in the presence of PTI leaders Pir Syed Muhammad Habib Irfani, Azam Swati, Rana Mudassar, Khurum Virk and Yunus Chishti.
He further said he has lost hope in seeing accountability in this country, which was never a priority in Pakistan since the days of Ayub Khan. “The people also believe that there was no justice in Pakistan,” he added.
He welcomed the Islamabad High Court’s verdict on the cypher case, saying he was grateful to the judiciary for giving the right decision, adding that he never understood the case as no wrong was committed. “It was the Prime Minister’s prerogative to decide whether to share confidential matters with the people or not. Such irrelevant issues are deliberately pitched for public debates to divert the people’s attention from the pressing issues and the media played well on the cypher and ‘idaat’ cases,” he added.
Referring to the case of the reserved seat, the former President said that “this case proves that Pakistan has a leader whom the people love.” He further said that even under the prevailing circumstances, they will welcome people who will invest in Pakistan.
When asked about holding negotiations with the political rivals, he said if there were negotiations, it would be with the owner of the house and no one else. “I have been trying to negotiate but nothing positive was coming out. Negotiations have been going on through the media for the last two years, with no direct talks taking place. If there is no hope of negotiation then why would I try,” he added.
On Gaza, he averred that history has rarely seen the persecution that was happening in the world these days; the way humanity was being killed in Gaza was never seen before. However, he praised Norway and Spain for recognising Palestine as an independent state.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024