PM Shehbaz advises Alvi to refrain from 'unconstitutional' acts

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has advised President Arif Alvi to refrain from unconstitutional moves, referring to the president's letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja over the dates of elections for the Khyber Paktunkhwa and Punjab assemblies.

In a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party meeting chaired by the premier, he said Alvi’s letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) about the announcement of the date for elections in Punjab and KP was an unconstitutional act.

Senior PML-N leaders, representatives of the ruling coalition and the legal team of the federal government participated in the meeting. The government’s legal team briefed the meeting participants about the suo motu notice taken by the Supreme Court (SC) regarding the holding of elections in Punjab and KP.

The premier called upon the president to refrain from such acts in future. He said the government respected the court, adding that the ECP was an independent institution and whatever decision it would make about elections in Punjab and KP would be implemented by the government.

The premier also took the ruling coalition partners into confidence over writing a letter to President Alvi about his unconstitutional act. The premier said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s so-called ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’ [court-arrest movement] had failed badly, and people had rejected the politics of chaos and anarchy. He said now people knew well about the U-turns of the PTI.

Last week, President Alvi had invited the CEC for consultation over the date of elections in Punjab and KP, but the ECP had rejected the president's proposal for consultation, after which President Alvi unilaterally announced the date of elections in Punjab and KP as April 9.

Declaring this action of President Alvi unconstitutional, federal ministers had said that the order of the president had no importance.

Meanwhile, in the meeting, it was demanded that two judges of the Supreme Court should recuse themselves from cases against the PML-N as the party did not expect justice from them.

Separately, PM Shehbaz Sharif and former president and chief of Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians Asif Ali Zardari held a meeting on Thursday and discussed the political situation in the country.

Though the official announcement issued after the meeting was restricted to only saying that the matters of mutual interest and the country’s overall political situation came under discussion, it is understood President Dr Arif Alvi’s act of announcing the date for elections in Punjab and KP was discussed by the two leaders.

Apex committee meeting today

PM Shehbaz Sharif will chair a meeting of the national apex committee today (Friday) to discuss the law and order situation in the country. The apex committee will discuss and evolve a strategy to deal with the increasing terror activities in various parts of the country.

The huddle will include the services chiefs, including Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Muneer, DG ISI, DIB and other intelligence gathering agencies heads. Well-placed sources told The News that the meeting will commence at the Prime Minister's House at 3pm.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan, Finance and Revenue Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar and Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif will also attend.

The sources pointed out that the meeting had conspicuous significance in the wake of the just concluded visit of Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif to the Afghan capital where DG ISI Lieutenant General Nadeem Ahmad Anjum was also in company.

Such a high-level visit from Islamabad took place after a long pause. It is understood that the activities of the TTP using the Afghan territory which is causing great harm to peace in Pakistan did come for detailed deliberations during the stay of the delegation in Kabul.