President Dr Arif Alvi Thursday urged the political parties to evolve consensus on the holding of early elections. The president, in an interview with a private television channel, said, “There will be no issue if elections were held a few months before the scheduled time.” The second tier of political parties should sit together if the top leadership could not hold talks due to any reason, he added. Ways should be found to reduce political instability in the country, he said. The people were concerned about the political instability, he said, adding egos should be put aside in the country’s interest and leadership of the political parties should resolve issues.
President Alvi said only political stability could bring in foreign investment and ensure implementation of the International Monetary Fund agreement. To a question about the long march of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, the president rejected the notion that the provinces could attack the federation. The people willingly came to attend the public meetings and became part of the political movements, he added. President Alvi said he was optimistic that the leadership of parties would be able to find a solution to the political issues. “I think I will be successful in helping the parties find solution to the issues.” To another question, he said selling of uranium occurred in India, while the nuclear assets of Pakistan were secure and in safe hands. Pakistan in the past had responded effectively to the aggression of India, he remarked.
The president said the international community was not helping in the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. Dr Alvi said the appointment of army chief should be made on merit. “If a decision is not taken on merit it will cause problems.” Consultation should be held on the matter, he stressed. He said holding of bye-elections was an exercise in futility. The resignations of all PTI members of the National Assembly should have been accepted in one go, he added. He supported the idea of use of electronic voting machines in the elections. New technologies should be adopted for transparent polls, he added.
