Pakistan President Alvi asks politicians to cash in on Army’s 'apolitical' stance

Pakistan President Arif Alvi has asked politicians to cash in on the Army commitment to a planned retreat from politics and work toge­ther to take the country out of crises and combat polarization, according to a media report on Friday, amidst a tussle between the military and the former prime minister Imran Khan.

Speaking at the concluding session of ‘Islamabad Conclave-2022’ organized by the Institute of Strategic Studies, a think tank, on Thursday, Alvi referred to a statement by form­er army chief retired Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa that the milit­a­­ry has decided to re­­main ‘ap­­olitical’ after admitting the Army’s “unconstitutional” meddling in the politics for almost seven decades.

“The Army has publicly committed to staying out of politics. It’s now for the politicians to grab this opportunity with a sense of responsibility,” Dawn newspaper quoted Alvi as saying.

Amid intense political polarisation, Alvi, who was a member of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party before becoming Pakistan's President, said politicians should talk and discuss all contentious matters.

“There is nothing which cannot be talked about,” he said while pleading with the political parties to “take the country out of crises and polarisation.” On foreign relations, he underscored the need for engagement and said it was also important from the security perspective.

“Democracy, defense, inf­ormation and communication, security, and economic independence were essential elements for comprehensive security,” he added.

He also regretted that debates on national issues, including health, economy, communication or development are held from “an elitist perspective”.

Pakistan, a nation of 220 million, has been ruled by four different military rulers and has seen three military coups since it was founded. No prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term under the present constitution of 1973. Bajwa was appointed as the army chief in 2016 and his three-year term was extended in 2019 by then Prime Minister Khan, who has turned out to be the top critic of the Army.

Bajwa in October assured the nation that the armed forces have distanced themselves from politics and wanted to continue to do so, according to a media report on Wednesday.

A day ahead of his retirement, Bajwa had said that his decision to keep the military establishment ''apolitical'' will protect it ''from the vagaries of politics'' in the coup-prone country.

Khan, who blames the Army for playing a role in his ouster in April this year through a no-confidence vote, and his followers have relentlessly attacked Bajwa for allegedly allowing his government to fall. Khan has accused Gen (retd.) Bajwa of playing a ''double game'' against his government and said that he committed a ''big mistake'' by extending the tenure of then military chief in 2019.

He had alleged that the no-confidence vote was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China, and Afghanistan. The US has denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, a leading Pakistani newspaper on Friday welcomed the efforts to break a deadlock between the government led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Khan's PTI.

Neither side can be blamed solely for where things stand at the moment, but both must acknowledge their role in precipitating the current crises. If, after that, they can jointly negotiate a course to guide the economy out of its current crises, we can hope for smooth sailing to the next election, whenever it is held, the Dawn newspaper said in an editorial.

''If they do not, for whatever selfish reasons, they will be imperilling the well-being of this country’s citizens. It is time for both sides to show flexibility and realise that the future of more than 240 million people is at stake,'' it said.

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and PTI must come to a mutually acceptable arrangement over the path to the next elections and set new rules for their political engagement in the future, it added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)