Islamabad, Pakistan: A statement by former President Dr. Arif Alvi is being viral on social media through X account defaming the Pakistan Army and leaving no doubts that PTI does not leave any chance to abuse and defame the Pakistan Army.
Dr. Alvi is the same person who was accused of attacking the state-run Pakistan Television building in 2014 but became the President despite being declared an absconder in the PTV attack case. Should he not tell through X who was behind him to raise him and place him in the Presidency instead of in jail? Should he not share with the nation who was providing expenses and arrangements for Dharna (sit-in) outside Parliament House? Should Dr. Arif Alvi not inform people how a party that got only three seats in the National Assembly seats in the 2008 General Elections, got 30 plus seats in the 2013 General Elections and formed government in KP province? Should he not share facts about who played the game to make this party ‘largest party’ in the 2018 General Elections and who collapsed RTS in the Election Commission building? The problem is simple— Dr. Alvi wants such handlers who had been raising him and his party from 2010 to 2018. Now they have gone on retirement and enjoy their lives somewhere in the Middle East, Europe, and North America. There is nobody around who can do unconstitutional acts for Dr Alvi and his party and this reality is injecting venom into every PTI leader and of course, Dr Alvi who is accusing the sitting leadership of the Pakistan Army for what it has not done. The ‘fault’ of sitting military leadership is that it believes in the Constitution and says that it has nothing to do with politics and is not there to support any particular party or personality; so Dr Alvi who had been the President of Pakistan and the Supreme Commander of the Pakistan Army is making accusations against Pakistan Army to fulfill political interests that show the impure mentality of his personality.
Dr. Arif is fabricating new allegations against the Pakistan Army this time, by using an interview of former federal minister of PTI Shireen Mazari, who left the party long ago. In her interview, she alleged that the establishment pressurized her daughter to change her allegiance (Shireen Mazari). It may be remembered she is the same woman who wrote letters to the United Nations demanding punitive actions against Pakistan. Having deep contacts in Pakistan’s foreign office and the establishment, Mazari was not arrested for conspiring against the country by writing letters to the United Nations. Whosoever except Dr Mazari, could be in jail for writing against his/her own country and demanding the UN to take action against the country. Dr Mazari had been the Director General of the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI) in the past which is a strategic studies think tank funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan. Based on the interview of Mazari, Dr. Arif Alvi said through X account that Shireen Mazari does not lie. Strangely, the period that Mazari indicated for alleged pressure on her is the same era when Dr Alvi was the Supreme Commander of the Pakistan Army. If he thinks this happened, he should have been to punish those who were pressurizing Dr Mazari. The important question here is that when all this was happening in front of Dr. Arif Alvi and he believed that the Pakistan Army was involved in it, why did he not resign at that time as President and Supreme Commander on the voice of his conscience?
Dr. Arif Alvi had a long history of twisting facts and a prime example was his illegal act of dissolution of the National Assembly when he dissolved the National Assembly even before receiving illegal advice from the then-prime minister Imran Khan.
The recent move of Dr. Alvi can be called an attempt to re-enter his party along with Dr Mazari as Ali Zaidi and Fawad Ch are already trying but the PTI is ruled by Pakhtun lawyers who are not giving space to those who left the party in the past. The important aspect of the story is that as long as these people remained in power, the state of Pakistan and the government had been ‘all ok’ but as soon as they were out of power, they saw flaws in the state and state institutions.
PTI insiders claim that Dr Alvi is unsuccessfully trying to become a martyr after five years of enjoying the presidency. Ironically, his presidency was so insignificant that not even government officials, not even foreign diplomats, attended his farewell ceremony and he left the President’s Office unceremoniously. It was hoped that such humiliation would lead a retrospective process and Dr Alvi would revisit what he had done to the country, however, today’s tweet has brought back old memories that he did not learn any lesson from the past.
If Dr Mazari was on the truth way then the then President who was also his party colleague should had the courage to stand with her. Either Dr Alvi was a coward before or a liar now, in either case, such a person’s testimony can only be thrown into the dustbin.
In February 2024, when Dr. Alvi was still President of Pakistan he found himself in the middle of a controversy called the “Bringing Smiles Project”. He was accused of using the influence of Governor Office Sindh, Awab Alvi, the real son of President Arif Alvi contracted a deal with an American firm “Bringing Smiles” worth $25 million. Bringing Smiles is linked to a fintech startup called Brillio whose investors and board members are Indian nationals. Dr Alvi faced a serious question how could a firm with proven Indian links be funded by an organization owned by a son of the Commander in Chief of Pakistan and the contract was signed in the Governor House—a symbol of Statehood in a province?
It may be remembered that in November 2021, Alvi Dental Hospital, led by Dr. Awab Alvi, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Smile Brands Inc. USA led by Dr Anas Athar to bring high-quality dentistry affordable across Pakistan. The MoU was signed by Awab Alvi of Alvi Dental Hospital and Dr Anas Athar of Bringing Smiles Inc., which President Arif Alvi and First Lady Samina Arif Alvi witnessed in their private capacity.
The group was named Inspire Dental Network (Pvt.) Ltd (IDN) after the MoU between Alvi Dental Hospital and Bringing Smiles Inc., USA. Another interesting point in the whole scene was that the President had said several times that he resigned from Alvi Dental while he was present in the ceremony that he arranged for his family venture at Sindh House—The Governor House of Sindh province. President’s son Awab Alvi was also a member of TED India and interestingly, President Alvi had been using his private residence as the camp office of TED India.
