ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi Saturday said holding of new elections would help resolve economic issues of Pakistan.
In an interview with a private television channel, he said, according to the constitution, the Election Commission should always be prepared for holding the elections.
He said elections were very important for Pakistan and the spirit of the constitution should be followed.
Elections should not be avoided by finding loopholes in the constitution, he added.
He said elections at the national, provincial, and local levels were reflective of the will of the people.
Elections should be held on time or before time and avoiding election was undemocratic, he added.
The President said according to the constitution he could ask the Prime Minister to get a vote of confidence if he would feel that he lacked a majority vote in the National Assembly.
He said opposition that was outside the National Assembly had popularity among the people. Political parties should take responsibility for taking the country forward, he stressed.
He told that he talked to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar about the need to hold elections.
He said Pakistan Tehreek I Insaf (PTI) was continuously asking the government to enter into talks on the prospects of early elections.
The current establishment wanted to stay away from politics, he remarked.
The President said Pakistan Tehreek I Insaf was the most popular political party in Pakistan at present.
He expressed confidence that Pakistan would not default economically. He noted that the biggest issue for Pakistan at the moment was its economy.
He said no “red line” could be imposed on a politician who was linked to the people of Pakistan.
He said members of PTI resigned from the National Assembly but their resignations were not accepted.
“I advised Imran Khan to not leave the assemblies but he did not follow my suggestion. His decision to quit assemblies was popular among the public.”
The narrative of Imran Khan on the issue of cipher was very popular with the public, he observed.
To a question, he said releasing audio and videos of people was not Islamic and were immoral.
He said Imran Khan was his leader and will remain his leader and he knew Imran even before the formation of their political party PTI.
He said it should be ensured that the next elections in Pakistan were free and fair.
“I tried my best for use of electronic voting machines in the polls and for giving voting rights to the overseas Pakistanis,” he concluded.
