Alvi’s legacy

As outgoing president Dr Arif Alvi was presented with a farewell guard of honour on Friday, one was forced to look back on the rather controversial legacy left behind by Pakistan’s 13th head of state. Sworn in on September 9, 2018 as the president, Dr Alvi’s term had technically ended last year but with assemblies dissolved he had continued in office till now after Election 2024. So what marked Dr Arif Alvi’s time as the president of Pakistan? It will not be much of a stretch to say that Dr Alvi probably oversaw one of the most volatile political moments in our recent history. Unfortunately, history may not judge him kindly for the role he chose to play, especially as regards his constitutional chores as the head of state.

While Dr Alvi has spoken about the criticism against him by both legal experts, judiciary and political opponents and observers, there is ample example to see where he faltered through his time as president. He has been accused time and again of not being the president of Pakistan but the ‘president of the PTI’ instead. From overseeing ordinances that included the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Ordinance 2022 to filing a reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa when he was not chief justice, Dr Alvi’s tenure has been controversial and fallen short of the non-partisanship needed in this role. Just one example: the amendment in Section 20 of the PECA Ordinance expanded the scope of criminal defamation to protect government institutions, departments and public office holders. The outgoing president also defended the reference against Justice Isa but when PTI founder Imran Khan took a U-turn and called it a mistake, Dr Alvi also changed tune.

Perhaps one of the most glaring examples of refusing to perform his constitutional role was Dr Alvi not agreeing to administer the oath to Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister after the PTI government was sent home post the vote of no-confidence. The outgoing president has also been guilty of dissolving the National Assembly so that the vote of no-confidence could not take place. That decision was overturned by the Supreme Court and the move by Suri and co was called unconstitutional. This is not to say that Dr Alvi has not been cognisant of the criticism he has been charged with. In a detailed interview after a judgment by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa that quoted an SC judge’s 2022 note that the president had transgressed the constitution by dissolving the National Assembly in April last year, Dr Alvi had sought to defend himself regarding this. On the criticism that he had erred in not giving a definitive date for the elections, the outgoing president had also defended himself by saying that he had written a letter and also asked [the CEC] for a meeting but that he was bound to take the advice of the government. All else aside, Dr Alvi will also be remembered as a largely polite man in office, who was beset perhaps by more than his share of political pressure, both from within his party and from outside of it. Perhaps one act of defiance that can be attributed to him will be his tweeted revelation that he had not signed two amendment laws. As we see another president take charge today, the main hope should be that whoever takes over this post sticks to the constitutional rule envisaged for the president of the country – who is the face of the federation, the head of all of the state, and not a party member alone.