Mian Raza Rabbani, the former Chairman of the Senate, on Friday issued a scathing press statement, highlighting a series of alleged unconstitutional actions taken by President Dr Arif Alvi as his term comes to an end Friday night. In his press release, Rabbani accused the outgoing president of failing to uphold the Constitution, 1973, and violating its provisions on multiple occasions. Rabbani’s statement outlined the following key allegations against President Arif Alvi: The former Senate chairman accused the president of promulgating ordinances without due consideration, violating Article 89(1) of the Constitution, 1973. Rabbani alleged that President Alvi unlawfully appointed two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan, bypassing established procedures and the Constitution, 1973.
The statement pointed to the promulgation of the GIDC Ordinance against the judiciary and without inter-ministerial consultation.
President Alvi’s re-promulgation of the PMDC Ordinance, which was previously rejected by the Senate under Article 89, Constitution, 1973, is also mentioned.
Rabbani criticized the president for filing references against two judges of the Superior Judiciary without proper consideration. The former Senate chairman accused the president of maintaining criminal silence over the withdrawal of the prosecution case in a matter of high treason. Rabbani highlighted several instances where court decisions have set aside actions taken by the president, including decisions related to the Competition Commission of Pakistan, PMDC Ordinance, Justice Qazi Faiz Isa’s reference, NFC Notification, and the removal of the Ombudsman.
The press statement included accusations related to the president’s actions concerning Article 63A, the dissolution of the National Assembly, refusal to administer the oath to the Prime Minister-elect, failure to act on the Prime Minister’s advice for the removal of the Governor Punjab, and the nomination of a person to administer the oath of Chief Minister. Rabbani claimed that President Alvi failed to fulfil his constitutional duty under Article 75 by neither assenting to nor returning two bills to the parliament, instead shifting the blame to the staff of the Presidency. Lastly, the former Senate chairman accused the president of misinterpreting Article 48 of the Constitution, 1973, in the announcement of the general election date.
President Dr Arif Alvi’s term is set to end Friday night, and these allegations by Mian Raza Rabbani add a contentious layer to his legacy as the head of state.