President Dr Arif Alvi has stated on Tuesday that selecting Governor’s House as venue for the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between son’s venture, Alvi Dental and an American company was “poor judgement”.
The president took to Twitter to state that hosting an event for the signing of an agreement between his son Dr Awab Alvi and Bringing Smiles USA at the Sindh Governor’s House “was a matter of poor judgement”.
It is pertinent to note that president Alvi’s statement came after several citizens and politicians probed why a private event that was hosted at the Governor’s House.
As per the details, the event was held on Monday in which an agreement was inked to provide affordable dental care to the citizens of country. The MoU was signed by Awab Alvi of Alvi Dental Hospital and Dr Anas Athar of Bringing Smiles USA, which was witnessed by President Alvi and First Lady Samina Arif Alvi.
It must be noted that earlier, the president had wished his son good luck on his new venture. “Wish you success in this collaboration with your friends who are also bringing in foreign investment,” he stated on Twitter.
However, the event was quick to spark controversy. Activist Asad Ali Toor wondered whether the president was using his official position to benefit his family business.
PML-N’s Ayesha Raza Farooq also raised several questions about the event. “Why is this signing off taking place at the Governor’s house? Why is the president of Pakistan promoting his family’s business? Isn’t this a violation of his oath? Conflict of interest?” she asked.
PML-N’s Khawaja Saad Rafique said that despite politics, the two had a relationship based on mutual respect. “But after you became president, a lot of complaints have arisen,” he said, adding that Alvi should not have sacrificed his principles
Meanwhile, Awab Alvi was quick to defendhis father by stating that president Alvi had resigned from Alvi Dental when he assumed office. “This venture is between me and my Pakistani US diaspora dentist-alumnus friend,” he stated.
He stated that President Alvi encourages all startups and is “on record to have hosted a startup in dentistry at the presidency last year”.
“His love for dentistry will not end whether it is toothbrushing directions from the Presidential Office or his effort for international standard quality dental care in Pakistan,” he stated.
Awab added that the original venue for the event was Alvi Dental. “But to avoid inconvenience because of security to APS school right next to us, it was changed,” he said.
“In retrospect we could have avoided it but any catering that was done was paid by me, personally,” he concluded.
