KARACHI: In his first press conference after leaving the Presidency, Dr Arif Alvi said on Sunday that he was still trying to bridge the gap between the establishment and the PTI.

Addressing the media at his residence in Karachi, Dr Alvi also stressed the need to take positive steps to bring the country together, calling on both the government and the powers that be to recognise the mandate given to his party.

“If you’ve heard my speeches [in the recent past], I have been talking about bringing the country together and the most important step towards this would be recognising [PTI’s] mandate.”

When asked what he did to bridge the divide between his party and the establishment, the former president said that he tried his best to patch things up.

In maiden presser after leaving Presidency, Alvi says he supports probe, punishment for those who broke the law on May 9

“I gave it my all… tried to resolve things from every angle. I tried in every meeting, some [meetings] were public, others were not,” he said, insisting that he had done everything he could to resolve issues between the two sides.

However, he conceded that his efforts did not bear fruit.

“Even now, I’m trying to resolve things,” he said in response to a question about the events of May 9.

He claimed that Pakistan was ranked third in the world in terms of recovery from the Covid crisis because the military and the government were on the same page at the time.

He also said he had condemned the violence on May 9, adding that there was no reason for him to back away from that stance.

“Justice requires that an investigation should be carried out and those who broke the law should be punished,” Dr Alvi said.

When quizzed about the claim that Imran Khan wanted to install General Faiz Hamid as the army chief, Mr Alvi said that whenever he spoke to the PTI founder on this subject, Mr Khan said he had no preference in the matter.

When asked if he saw the controversial cipher himself, Mr Alvi said: “Yes, I was sent the cipher.”

The former president also called for all cases against Imran Khan to be tried in an open court — including those where he has already been sentenced — adding that he was confident that the PTI founder would be exonerated if open trials were conducted.

He also revealed that he would ask his lawyers to file a request to meet Mr Khan in prison.

When asked if he owns all of Mr Khan’s allegations against the establishment, he said that the PTI founder had his own opinions, while he had his own.

Talking about the issue of reserved seats that have been denied to the PTI-Sunni Ittehad Council alliance, he said that he had been insisting that until a decision is taken on the issue, the assembly session should not be called. He also recalled that he had said as much when he eventually approved the summary to call the maiden assembly session.

When asked about his future plans and whether he will take on any leadership role in the party in Sindh, he avoided giving a direct answer, instead recalling how he was one of the first members of PTI and maintaining that Imran Khan was and still is his leader.

He said Pakistan was passing through troubled times: “The economy has been on the downturn for the past couple of years while the country has been experiencing strife. I pray that the country is taken in the right direction,” he said, adding that the mandate given by the people should be respected.

Talking about the economic challenges facing the incoming government, he said that even if the chairman of the IMF was brought to manage Pakistan’s economy, there were no easy solutions.

He said that it was up to the leaders to motivate people towards austerity and lead by their own example.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2024