Ishaq Dar, a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and former finance minister, has called on President Arif Alvi to resign from his position following the observations made by the chief justice in the election delay case.
Ishaq Dar referred to Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s recent remarks, in which he stated that President Alvi had violated the Constitution by not announcing a date for the general elections. During a recent hearing of petitions seeking timely elections within 90 days of the dissolution of the assemblies, Chief Justice Isa made these comments.
Dar suggested that, in light of the Supreme Court’s remarks, it would be more appropriate for the president to resign voluntarily.
Speaking about the upcoming general elections scheduled for February 8 next year, Dar expressed concerns that the polls might be further delayed until the end of February due to the process of delimiting constituencies. However, he noted that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has expedited the process of defining new boundaries.
Senator Dar also mentioned that the establishment supported the leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the past and called for the formation of a truth and reconciliation commission to uncover the facts.
He stated that if the PML-N were to come into power in the next elections, he would demand the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission. Dar emphasized that no party has undertaken as much development work as the PML-N in the country and stated that a 16-month coalition government led by the PML-N was insufficient to stabilize the economy.
Dar explained that it has been a challenging decision for Nawaz Sharif to accept a 16-month government term and added that Pakistan would have faced default if the coalition government had not come to power after the removal of the PTI-led regime through a no-confidence motion in April of the previous year.
He also claimed that the PDM government prevented Pakistan from facing a situation similar to that of Sri Lanka and rescued the economy from default. Dar suggested that certain international forces had also desired Pakistan’s default.
In response to a question regarding electoral alliances, Dar ruled out forming a national-level alliance with any political party but mentioned that seat-to-seat adjustments were possible. He also stated that seat adjustments were possible with the PPP (Pakistan Peoples Party).
