- Petitioner says Dr Alvi ‘misused his powers’ by using his office to support his party PTI’s chief
ISLAMABAD: A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, seeking the removal of President Dr Arif Alvi for “not acting in accordance with the responsibilities” of his office.
The petition was filed by Ghulam Murtaza Khan, who cited controversial decisions made by Alvi during his tenure, including an attempted dissolution of the National Assembly, sending a presidential reference against Supreme Court Judge Qazi Faez Isa, and his failure to announce a date for national elections. Khan argued that Alvi misused his powers by using his office to support ex-PM Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which was “unconstitutional and biased” toward the nation.
The petition has been seen as a significant development in the ongoing political turmoil in Pakistan, with the opposition and various segments of society expressing dissatisfaction with President Alvi’s actions. The Supreme Court will now have to consider the merits of the petition and decide whether there are grounds for the removal of the president. This situation adds to the political instability in the country and raises questions about the functioning of democratic institutions.
Major Pakistani political parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), have also repeatedly accused Dr. Alvi of being “biased” toward Khan’s party and acting as a “party member” instead of a head of state. The petitioner also said that Alvi contradicted with his position by giving controversial statements on various occasions, citing a controversy that arose from Alvi’s return of the Official Secrets Amendment Bill and Pakistan Army Amendment Bill without signing them.
In August, President Alvi announced via messaging platform X that he had asked staff to return the bills, granting widespread powers to the military, unsigned within the stipulated time to make them ineffective. The development came amid a crackdown on Alvi’s party following attacks by its supporters on government and military installations to protest ex-PM Khan’s brief arrest in a graft case in May.
It remains to be seen how the court will respond to the petition and what implications it will have for the future of the presidency in Pakistan. The situation adds to the political instability in the country and raises questions about the functioning of democratic institutions.
