Several have wondered whether President Dr. Arif Alvi used his influence in promoting his family dental practice after his son Dr. Awab Alvi announced that Alvi Dental was collaborating with Bringing Smiles USA to offer affordable dental care in Pakistan.
Awab tweeted on Monday that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Bringing Smiles USA and Alvi Dental to set up a chain dental clinic in Pakistan. The dental practices, Awab said, would be affordable but would still have the highest standards of quality for patients. The image that accompanied the tweet showed the president standing behind his son. President Arif also congratulated his son through a tweet and appreciated him for bringing in foreign direct investment to Pakistan.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) member Ayesha Raza Farooq asked why the signing of the MoU took place at the Governor House [Sindh], where the president was seemingly promoting his family business.
A user resonated with Farooq, and while apparently appreciating the collaboration, said that next time the contract should be signed at the clinic instead of the Governor House with the president’s blessings.
Law student Anaya Khan wondered whether the act counted as ‘corruption’ for diehards of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).
Many others stated that President Arif’s involvement was a clear conflict of interest. Journalist Zahid Gishkori posted a part of the presidential oath, according to which the president would “not allow [their] personal interest to influence [their] official conduct or [their] official decisions”.
Writer Durdana Najam asked whether the collaboration is what Prime Minister Imran Khan meant in terms of avoiding ‘conflict of interest’. Najam said that this was the ‘vision’ in which rulers were indulging in family businesses.
Agreeing that the situation was a conflict of interest, journalist Ikram Raja further mulled over why the MoU was not signed by a government hospital instead of Alvi Dental.
