President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday revealed that former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa and his team helped Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan not only in the Senate but also with the general elections.
The president’s remarks came during a wide-ranging conversation with journalists, leaders of the business community and foreign diplomats at a dinner on Saturday, The News reported.
President Alvi, when asked why and when relations between Khan and Gen (retd) Bajwa soured, replied wittingly that he was still looking for the answer to this question, but it was probably October last year and then it was April or May this year.
Regarding Khan’s allegations against the former army chief, the president remarked that although the other side maintained they had become neutral and did not push people away, he still believed there was some pushing away.
President Alvi added that during the PTI’s government, even people like Shireen Mazari had to concede they had no power when journalists were mistreated. The president went on to say that there was a lot of interference in the affairs of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). He said politicians’ maturity needed to match the situation.
Replying to a question whether Khan at any stage thought of sacking Gen (retd) Bajwa, the president replied: “No, I don’t think so. That was a rumour.”
Audio leaks
During the conversation, President Alvi expressed deep concern and anguish over the release of audios and videos revealing private conversations of political leaders.
The president said he had made it a point to discuss with the new army chief the “game of audios and videos”. “I am surprised why it is going on. It should not continue in any sense of morality,” he said.
President Alvi said he discussed with the army chief the “neutrality” of the armed forces. He shared a funny anecdote of the time he was part of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) in 1990s when the party candidates had to answer the question before submission of their nomination papers whether or not they consumed liquor.
He recalled how one of the candidates agreed he did consume liquor and another said he had quit it just two days back. “I mention this anecdote to all friends of mine who wear a uniform, just to tell them if you’ve left politics — you’ve left it only the day before yesterday,” he said, adding that this makes everyone laugh.
The president remarked that if the army had left politics, it was time politicians took charge of the situation. “You [politician] should create a situation where you don’t run to them [army],” he said.
Judiciary’s role
Dr Alvi was of the view that the country was facing difficult times. He said we should let go of the past and forgive people for the mistakes they had committed earlier for a new beginning.
“Let’s make a country that we deserve.” He rued that institutions had not played their role, even the judiciary. The president said courts had given verdicts allowing a dictator to change the constitution. He referred to the Reko Diq case in which Pakistan had to pay a fine of $7 billion.
“If you criticise the judiciary, it will reduce the efficacy of the entire judiciary. If you criticise the army, it brings disrepute to them and you don’t want them to get disrepute,” the president said. He, however, added that this principle was often stretched and applied to every situation, due to which one could not say anything against them.
The president also remarked that it was too easy in the country to send anyone to jail. He said if a particular person was on the target, any accusation could be levelled against that person and the relevant law invoked to ensure that he was behind the bars.
