Secretary to President replaced: Alvi will neither resign nor cross ‘red line’?
ISLAMABAD: President Alvi’s tweet on Sunday followed by his Secretariat seeking the termination of services of Waqar Ahmed, Secretary to President, on Monday and his replacement with Humaira Ahmed, a BPS-22 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service, has raised concerns about his ‘trustworthiness’ in power corridors.
Well-placed sources told Business Recorder that the establishment was not happy with President Alvi’s latest move but he has been warned not to cross a certain “red line.”
The bills - Official Secrets (Amendment Bill) 2023 and Pakistan Army (Amendment Bill) 2023 - have already become Acts of parliament and the status of these laws will not change even if the matter lands in the Supreme Court, sources added.
Alvi will neither resign nor cross a certain ‘red line’, but linger on until the next new government, the source further stated, adding that PML-N and PPP will; however, keep pressurising Alvi to resign to show their solidarity with the establishment.
PML-N and PPP have already called for Alvi to step down, subsequent to his surprising tweet in which he claimed his staff undermined his will and command, as he had instructed them to return the bills unsigned within the stipulated time to make them ineffective.
With regard to the economic situation, sources acknowledged that the establishment will be blamed if the economic conditions of the country did not improve, but added “the caretaker setup is just a constitutional requirement and they do not have any other role.”
However, the sources expressed confidence that steps are in place and it will take time to show positive results. “New finance minister (Shamshad Akhtar) is a good economic manager and international stakeholders are also on board. Pakistan will rise soon as a lot of mega projects are under way,” they further maintained.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) urged Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial on Monday to take notice of the situation that has arisen after the President’s tweet and subsequent statement.
Talking to reporters, senior PTI leader Babar Awan said that the Chief Justice should take notice of the imminent constitutional crisis in the country.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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