President Dr. Alvi
ISLAMABAD: President of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi is completing his five-year term today. He is the fourth President to achieve this milestone. Elected as the 13th president on September 8, 2018, his term is ending today, Sept 8, 2023.
It’s worth noting that the completion of his tenure doesn’t automatically result in his removal from office. Article 44(1) allows him to remain in office until a successor is duly elected.
However, the process of electing a successor faces some unique challenges. The electoral college for this purpose comprises the national and provincial assemblies, which are no longer in existence.
In the event that President Alvi decides to resign, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani would step in to fulfill the presidential duties until a new president is chosen. Should such a resignation occur, it would be submitted to the speaker of the National Assembly.
Notably, three presidents who completed their full terms before President Alvi were Chaudhary Fazal Elahi (1973-1978), Asif Ali Zardari (2008-2013), and Mamnoon Hussain (2013-2018).
Meanwhile, Senator Muhammad Ali Durrani recently had an unusual meeting with President Alvi at the President House. This meeting has garnered attention as Durrani has not been very active in the political arena.
A few weeks ago, President Alvi stirred controversy by claiming that he had never given his approval to amendments in the Official Secrets Act and the Army Act.
He asserted that his staff had acted against his wishes, leading to the contentious situation.
So far, there is no announcement whether the President of Pakistan will continue to hold this coveted post or step down upon completing the term.
Pakistani currency shows strong recovery after crackdown
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) has exhibited remarkable strength against the US dollar in the open market after crackdown against $-dealers. It led to further gain of 4-rupee in the value of PKR on Friday.
Over the past four days, the local currency has surged by 30 rupees (9.97%), moving from PKR 333 to PKR 301 against the USD.
Simultaneously, in the interbank market, there has been a 2-rupee appreciation in today’s trading session. The dollar-rupee exchange rate stood at 302.74/302.84 on Friday morning. This follows a 2-rupee increase in PKR value from the previous interbank session.
PKR gains Rs 32 in the past four days after a crackdown against $-dealers.
What’s particularly noteworthy is the shrinking gap between the interbank and open market rates, now standing at just 0.57%.
This resurgence in the local currency can be attributed to recent reforms initiated by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in the exchange companies sector.
