PM Shehbaz terms Alvi's letter seeking polls 'PTI's press release'

ISLAMABAD:

 

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday responded to President Dr Arif Alvi’s letter by saying that it not only exposed his blatant partisan nature but read like a press release of the PTI, the political party the latter was affiliated with.

President Alvi had written a letter to PM Shehbaz on Friday emphasising that he should direct all the executive authorities concerned with federal and provincial governments to assist the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in holding the elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa within the constitutional timeframe.

In his response to that letter, the premier accused the president of openly supporting PTI’s anti-government views in violation of his oath and office.
He added that Dr Alvi had also acted in a similar partisan manner on several occasions in the past in violation of his oath.

“I am constrained to express, at the outset, my disappointment at the blatantly partisan nature of your letter, which in parts reads like a Press Release of the Opposition political party, i.e. the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI),” the premier responded to the president's letter.

PM Shehbaz continued that Dr Alvi had continuously been espousing the PTI’s one-sided, anti-government views, notwithstanding his constitutional oath and the office of president.

The premier pointed out that these occasions included the president’s order for the dissolution of the National Assembly on April 3, 2022, on the “illegal” instructions of then premier Imran Khan – a decision that was later declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on April 7, 2022.

Secondly, PM Shehbaz maintained that the president had failed to discharge his constitutional duty in terms of clause (5) of Article 91 to call upon him when he assumed the office of the prime minister and swear him in.

“The only reason I am responding to your letter is because I want to bring your partisan attitude and actions on record and to set the record of our government straight,” the premier wrote.

Writing on the issue of the elections, PM Shehbaz claimed that the president had given the dates for the polls in Punjab and K-P at the behest of the PTI, adding that the decision was set aside by the Supreme Court on March 1, 2023.

“You have not raised any concerns on the malafide dissolution of the Provincial Assemblies of the two provinces, that too at the behest of and to satisfy the ego of the Chairman, PTI,” PM Shehbaz continued.

The premier maintained that the two provincial assemblies had been dissolved not for any constitutional or legal objective but to blackmail the government in the Centre and the other two provinces.

He added that the sole objective of the PTI’s move was to force the government to dissolve the National and the other two provincial assemblies.

The PM wrote that the president had not taken note of the effect of conducting polls in Punjab and K-P prior to the general elections for the National Assembly in as much as conducting free and fair elections under clause (3) of Article 218 might not be possible with elected governments in the two provinces.

“This constitutional distortion has completely escaped your attention, which is quite saddening, given the role of the head of the state that the Constitution assigns to the president,” the premier added.

In addition, PM Shehbaz wrote that the ECP had announced October 8, 2023, to be the new date for the polls in Punjab after taking into account the ground realities, saying all federal and provincial governmental authorities furnished the relevant information to the electoral watchdog.

He added that being the constitutional body charged with the duty to organise and conduct elections, it was ultimately the ECP’s decision to assess whether the circumstances were conducive for conducting free and fair polls as required under clause (3) of Article 218.

“I do, however, wish to point out that you did not object to the use of language and the rather aggressive attitude of the federal ministers of the previous government, who actively attempted to undermine the authority and credibility of the ECP,” the PM added.

In his letter, the president had also highlighted human rights abuses by the authorities -- mainly against the PTI chairman and his party activists -- and asked PM Shehbaz to take notice of them and ensure remedial measures as well as preventive action.

In response, PM Shehbaz while simultaneously accusing the president of actively working towards undermining a constitutionally-elected government and objecting to the tone and language of the letter, wrote that Dr Alvi's reference to the alleged violations of fundamental and human rights of politicians as well as political activists was quite clearly in reference to those belonging to the PTI, a party he himself belonged to.

“I want to state in categorical terms that the substantive and procedural due process guaranteed under the Constitution, under Articles 4 and 10A, is being afforded to all,” PM Shehbaz claimed, adding that all actions taken by the law enforcement agencies were strictly in accordance with the law to maintain law and order as well as to establish the writ of the state.”

Moreover, the premier wrote that in nearly all instances, the people aggrieved by the legal action taken against them had approached the appropriate legal forums
“Regrettably and ostensibly due to your party allegiance, you [president] have failed to note the sheer violation of laws, contumacious disregard of court orders, attacking the law enforcement agencies, damaging public property, attempts to create chaos, civil and political unrest and in short, to bring the country to the brink of economic default and civil war, by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI),” PM Shehbaz continued.

“Mr President, what has really ‘tarnished the image of Pakistan in the international community and is casting negative repercussions on the future of democracy and state of human rights in the country’ is the complete disregard of the laws and the Constitution by the PTI,” the premier claimed.

PM Shehbaz further wrote that the president had not, on any occasion, “uttered even a single word regarding the conduct of Mr Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi, Chairman, PTI on his actions in response to lawfully issued court orders for appearance in criminal proceedings”.

The premier added that “never in our history have we ever witnessed such an aggressive, rather militant, attitude of a political order in complete defiance of court orders”.

He claimed that the PML-N-led government had ensured that there remained complete freedom of speech and expression, as enshrined under Article 19 of the Constitution, subject only to reasonable restrictions permissible under the provision.

“Regrettably again, you [president] never raised your voice or shared your concerns in the manner that you have in your letter in the past while the PTI was in power,” he added.

PM Shehbaz said he wished to draw the president’s attention to the Human Rights Watch's (HRW) annual World Report 2022, which covered the year 2021 when the PTI government was in office.

The premier, while quoting the HRW report, wrote that the PTI-led Pakistan government had “intensified its efforts to control the media and curtail dissent, authorities harassed and at times detained, journalists and other members of civil society for criticising government officials and politics. Violent attacks on members of the media also continue”.

PM further referred to a report by Aljazeera published on January 14, 2022, on the annual World Report 2022 issued by the HRW, with specific reference to the chapter on Pakistan.

He noted that the report had pointed out that the previous government kept the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) dysfunctional for the most part of its tenure.

Quoting the report, the premier noted that the PTI-led government had deliberately obstructed the appointment of the members and chairperson of the NCHR only because it had issued a damning report on the state of human rights under its regime.

PM Shehbaz continued that there were several reports of international human rights organisations that reflected poorly on the track record of the previous government on severe violations of human rights and the fundamental rights of the citizens of Pakistan.

“All of this, unfortunately, escaped your [president] attention,” the premier added.
Moreover, he maintained that the president did not raise any concerns when the previous government carried out a witch-hunt against the opposition, claiming that a fabricated and false narcotics case, entailing the death penalty, was registered against PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah, then an MNA.

He added that male and female members of parliament of other opposition parties were subjected to the worst kind of political victimisation by making false cases against them during the PTI tenure.

He claimed that even a female member of the family of a former premier was not spared, solely to politically eliminate them.

He added that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was used to tame the political opposition and dissent.

“Unfortunately,” he wrote, “you [president] never raised your voice.”

The premier further wrote that the Constitution did not vest any powers in or assign any functions to the president whereby they could seek an explanation from the government or the prime minister.

Responding to the president’s reference to Article 46 of the Constitution and Rule 15(5)(b) of the Rules of Business, 1973, through which he arrived at the conclusion that there ought to be meaningful consultation between the president and the prime minister, PM Shehbaz wrote that the “conclusion is, with great respect, out of place”.

“Mr President, in the exercise of your functions, you must act on and in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet or the PM under clause (1) of Article 48,” he noted.

In very limited instances, PM Shehbaz highlighted that the president acted at his discretion under the Constitution.

“Article 46 and Rule 15(5)(b) supra are what they ordain. That is, keep the president informed. Nothing more and nothing less,” he wrote.

The premier added that these provisions or for that matter nothing else in the Constitution required the prime minister to consult the president on the exercise of executive authority by the federal government.

“I am fully aware of my duties and the duties of the federal government under the Constitution,” PM Shehbaz finally told President Dr Alvi.

The premier assured the president that the government was fully committed to preserving, protecting and defending the Constitution and ensuring that the fundamental rights guaranteed to the citizens of Pakistan were not violated.

"However, our government is also determined to ensure that no one is allowed to violate the law, create unrest and attempt to cause irreparable harm to the state of Pakistan. I want to further assure you that our government will thwart any efforts to undermine the constitutionally elected government,” he concluded.