Pakistan president Dr Arif Alvi revealed that former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa and his team had helped Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the Senate and during the last election to win. #Pakistan #ImranKhan #GeoNews

"KARACHI: In a wide-ranging conversation with journalists, leaders of the business community and foreign diplomats at a dinner on Saturday, President Arif Alvi expressed deep concern and anguish over the release of audios and videos revealing private conversations of political leaders. 

He said he had made it a point to discuss with the new army chief the ‘game of audios and videos’. “I am surprised why it is going on.It should not continue in any sense of morality,” he said. 

The other thing President Alvi said he discussed with the army chief was the ‘neutrality’ of the armed forces. He shared a funny anecdote of the time he was part of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) in 1990s when the party candidates had to answer the question before submission of their nomination papers whether or not they consumed liquor. 

He recalled how one of the candidates agreed he did consume liquor and another said he had quit it just two days back. “I mention this anecdote to all friends of mine who wear uniform, just to tell them if you’ve left politics – you’ve left it only the day before yesterday,” he said, adding that this makes everyone laugh. 

The president remarked that if the army had left politics, it was the time politicians took charge of the situation. “You [politician]) should create a situation where you don’t run to them [army],” he said. 

Dr Alvi was of the view that the country was facing difficult times. He said we should let go of the past and forgive people the mistakes they had committed earlier for a new beginning. “Let’s make a country that we deserve.” He rued that institutions had not played their role, even the judiciary. The president said courts had given verdicts allowing a dictator to change the constitution. He referred to the Reko Diq case in which Pakistan had to pay a fine of $7 billion." 

Read more.