ISLAMABAD (INP): President Dr Arif Alvi has asserted that he and the government had no contact with the Establishment for over a month, condemning the arrest of former information minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry.
In conversation with senior journalists, the President noted that no progress was made by the incumbent government in negotiations in the past month and a half. “Imran Khan was ready to hold talks with the government,” President Alvi maintained, holding the incumbent rules responsible for the lack of negotiations.
President Alvi also stated that he had no contact with the establishment for over a month, adding: “I had told Finance Minister Ishaq Dar that the Establishment had said it did not want to interfere in politics.” The president also deplored the manner in which PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry was presented in the Islamabad court, lambasting the officials for covering the former minister’s head with a white sheet and also handcuffed him.
He further said that Fawad was arrested for speaking about democracy, adding that institutions shouldn’t need police to maintain their respect. “If someone has an issue with me, then I will improve my performance instead of asking the police to take action,” he added. President Alvi warned the government against using “minus-one formula” against former premier and PTI Chairman Imran Khan, saying that such tactics had never succeeded in Pakistan.
Alvi: No contact with establishment
