PM Shehbaz reprimands President for endorsing ‘anti-govt’ sentiments

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday informed President, Dr. Arif Alvi, that his letter on the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was blatantly political and supported the “one-sided and anti-government” views of the Imran Khan-led party.

In a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz on Friday, the president pleaded with him to see that the Supreme Court’s directives for the general elections in both provinces were carried out.

The action was taken in response to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) delaying the impending polls in Punjab, which were originally scheduled to take place on April 30. The ECP cited security concerns as the primary reason for the schedule change.

In his letter, the president emphasized that to prevent further issues, such as contempt of court, all relevant executive authorities of the federal and provincial governments should be directed to refrain from violating human rights and to work with the ECP to hold general elections in the two provinces as soon as possible and by the apex court’s order.

In contrast, the prime minister claimed that the president’s letter to him was partial and contained anti-government sentiments in his letter from today.

PM Shehbaz criticized the president, claiming that he dissolved the National Assembly by unlawful directives from former prime minister Imran Khan, which the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional on April 7.

He stated that, by Article 91, clause 5, President Alvi had a responsibility to administer the oath to him as prime minister.

He also criticized the president for keeping silent on the absence of ousted prime minister Imran Khan from court appearances.

The prime minister emphasized that the current administration had made sure that “full freedom of speech and expression, as established in Article 19 of the Constitution,” was guaranteed.

In addition to criticizing the former PTI administration for maintaining the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) in a dysfunctional state for the majority of its term, PM Shehbaz also brought up attacks on media professionals and journalists.

He also called the president’s attention to the political oppression of opposition lawmakers under the PTI, specifically the drug case against interior minister Rana Sanaullah, who was then an MNA, and the NAB cases against PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz.

The president was further attacked by the prime minister in his letter, who claimed that the president had agreed to the PTI’s request for election dates. The president’s decision to establish a date for the KP Assembly election, he said, had been overturned by the Supreme Court.

The premier stated that the dissolution of the assembly was done to threaten the national and provincial governments into dissolving the National Assembly and the other two provincial assemblies.

The electoral body determines whether polls may be held in a certain situation, as the prime minister again emphasized.

PM Shehbaz declared in his letter’s conclusion that he is “completely aware” of his responsibilities as well as those of the government.