The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has charged President Arif Alvi of allegedly violating the country's Constitution and asked him to voluntarily step down in wake of the judgment by the Supreme Court in the Justice Qazi Faez Isa case.
"I was expecting that after the release of (SC) judgment, the President would himself resign. However, now a week is about to be over, but the President has not yet resigned. Therefore, keeping in view all the circumstances, it will be appropriate for the President to resign in the light of the findings of the detailed reasoning by the SC," said PPP Senator Raza Rabb while speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, as quoted by Dawn.
Dawn further reported that the Senator said that the resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the removal of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government was on the list of the demands of the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), and "now the President's resignation has also been included in the list".
With regard to moving an impeachment movement against the President, Rabb said that it would be decided by the PDM leadership and expressed that he PDM's special committee would meet soon and devise a strategy as to how to raise the demand for the President's resignation and what strategy they should adopt for it.
Dawn reported that the Senator while reading out the excerpts from the Supreme Court's detailed judgment in the Justice Isa case on October 23, said that there was a "clear conflict of interest" in the process stating that "the President had discussed the reference and its legal aspects with the attorney general and the law minister who was admittedly involved in the framing of the reference".
He said that the court had declared that it was not appropriate for the President to make his opinion on the basis of consultations with the architects of the reference and added that under Article 48 (1) of the Constitution, "the president has the power to return the advice by the Prime Minister or the cabinet for reconsideration", but he didn't do it.
Rabb, who also served as the Senate chairman said that the judgment had stated "in clear terms" that the President has not fulfilled "his constitutional responsibilities" and added that it was not the first time that Arif had "committed an irregularity or violated the constitution".
( With inputs from ANI )
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