By Makhdoom Shehryar Babar
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday to discuss the country’s security and economic situation. This is the second time the two held a meeting since Shehbaz’s ascension to power after ousting former premier Imran Khan.
It is pertinent to note that last month, amid growing political volatility, President Alvi had offered to reach out to both PM Shehbaz and former premier and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan to thaw the political impasse over a spate of thorny issues and find a broad consensus for fresh elections and a charter of economy.
According to details, the meeting on Wednesday took place prior to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar’s oath-taking ceremony. The two leaders also discussed the matter of audio leaks from the Prime Minister’s Office which surfaced on social media over the weekend.
The premier further informed President Alvi about meetings with various heads of state during the 77th United Nations General Assembly session in New York last week.
Newly appointed finance czar Ishaq Dar also met the president at the Aiwan-i-Sadr immediately after taking the oath of his office. Both expressed concern over the country’s economic situation and reviewed the damages to the economy caused by the devastating floods.
Dar informed Alvi of his plan to deal with the economic challenges the country faced. Earlier at the Aiwan-i-Sadr, Ishaq Dar was sworn in as the new finance minister following his return to the country.
The oath was administered by President Alvi, with PM Shehbaz and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, among others, present at the oath-taking ceremony.
During the ceremony, Dar swore, “to bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan, discharge its duties honestly to the best of ability and faithfully in accordance with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the law”.
It is worth mentioning here that a day after Shehbaz was elected as the Prime Minister, President Alvi had excused himself from administering the oath of office to the former, citing health issues – a reason he repeated for refraining from administering the oath to the new cabinet as well. On April 20, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had held a meeting with President Dr Arif Alvi for the first time since the former’s ascension to power after ousting former premier Imran Khan.
The two had discussed political and economic situation of the country, besides holding consultations over national issues and constitutional issues, including the appointment of four governors.
The meeting came amid speculations that a silent tug of war was raging between the government and the president, who skirted administering the oath to PM Shehbaz and had shown reluctance to fall in line with the new dispensation.
A few days later, speculations swirled that the murmur of dislike for the erstwhile opposition party had become louder when the newly-elected government faced another hitch in exercising its powers after the president allowed the “sacked” governor to continue to hold the office.
Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema was sacked by the government after he had refused to administer the oath to newly-elected Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz due to concerns over his election.
Cheema had made it clear that he could not be dismissed from office by the prime minister as the constitution only gave this authority to the president.
The government said that a summary for Cheema’s removal had been sent to President Alvi, however, reports suggested that the head of state refused to approve it.
