SC petition calling for President Alvi’s removal

Dr. Arif Alvi is facing yet another challenge to his turbulent five-year term as president of the nation. According to a report on Saturday from Geo News, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court to remove him from office due to his “misuse” of power and “biased” behavior, which is against the Constitution.

Despite the fact that President Alvi’s term ended on September 8, 2023, he is still serving as the nation’s head of state as permitted by Article 44 of the Constitution. This is because the national and provincial assemblies were dissolved in August and January of this year, respectively, and the president can continue to hold this position in their absence.

Some of the most controversial political decisions in the history of the country have been made by him, such as dissolving the National Assembly before the no-confidence motion against then-PM Imran Khan was filed in April 2022, failing to announce the election date, and sending the infamous presidential reference against CJP Qazi Faez Isa to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).

Following the May 9 events, Dr. Alvi has been under fire from his own party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The Supreme Court and a number of politicians have also criticized the top official for not disclosing the poll date.

Alvi in violation of Constitution, misusing his powers

Ghulam Murtaza Khan’s application draws attention to President Alvi’s “controversial role” and argues that the officeholder has a constitutional duty to uphold the law.

The petition contends that the president is “not entitled” to hold the esteemed position and reads, “President of Pakistan Mr. Arif Alvi who is not acting in accordance with the responsibilities of the seat but is biased […] He is misusing the powers and violating the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan continuously by his words & conducts.”

According to the petition, which also cites Alvi’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly in April 2022 at the request of then-prime minister Imran Khan, President Alvi is biased and represents the PTI by “giving favour to one particular political party.”

After the opposition parties filed a motion of no confidence against the Khan-led PTI government in April 2022, citing “international conspiracy” and invoking Article 5(1) of the Constitution, which requires citizens to be loyal to the state, Alvi dissolved the lower house of parliament.

The no-confidence motion was then declared “unconstitutional” by then-NA speaker Asad Qaiser.

The application contends that the President of Pakistan has abused his authority by supporting the PTI through the Office of the State, claiming that the President’s office is being utilized for party meetings.

Dr Alvi has been accused by a number of mainstream political parties, such as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and others, of being “biased” for the Imran-led party and continuing to function as a “party member” rather than the head of state, who is expected to be “impartial and unbiased”.

Speaking on Geo News’ “Capital Talk” last month, Alvi reaffirmed his allegiance to PTI Chairman Imran, declaring, “He is still my leader.”

In reference to Alvi’s failure to declare the election date in accordance with Article 48(5) of the Constitution, the petition also stated, “[The] president did not also give election date as Constitutional role which is observed in the country.”

Recall that on February 8, following a unanimous decision by President Arif and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja at a meeting at the President’s House, a three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and consisting of Justices Minallah and Amin-Ud-Din Khan ordered the government to guarantee the conduct of general elections.

Justice Minallah noted in his 41-page memo, however, that President Alvi “failed in his duty to promptly appoint a date for the general elections as required under Article 48(5).”

The issue that started when Alvi “reportedly” returned the Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2023 and the Official Secrets Amendment Bill without signing them is also mentioned in the petition.

The president said on August 20 on social networking site X, formerly known as Twitter, that he had instructed employees to return the bills unsigned within the allotted time frame in order to render them useless.

The application requests that the court look into the situation and remove President Alvi from his position as head of state