‘Regime change plot’: President Arif Alvi asks CJP to form commission

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi Thursday wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) requesting him to form a judicial commission to conduct open hearings and thoroughly probe the allegations of regime change conspiracy.

He said the commission would help avert the political and economic crises in the country, and keep the political powder keg from igniting. Underlining the importance of constituting the commission, the president said a serious political crisis is looming in the country and major polarisation is taking place in politics, in the wake of recent events, as well as among the people of Pakistan. He emphasised that it is the collective duty of all institutions to make utmost efforts to avert damaging consequences to the country and prevent further deterioration.

He regretted the fact that random comments are being quoted out of context, misunderstandings are increasing, opportunities are being lost, confusion prevails, and with the economy also in crisis, the situation on the ground is approaching a political powder keg that may ignite at any time.

The president pointed out that the Supreme Court, in the past, had taken initiatives to constitute judicial commissions in matters of national security, integrity, sovereignty and public interest. “A judicial commission, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk and two honorable judges of the Supreme Court, inquired into rigging allegations in 2013 elections," he wrote in the letter.

Similarly, judicial commissions were established to investigate the Memogate matter, and still functional judicial commission exists for missing persons, that is headed by an honorable judge of the Supreme Court, he observed. He further stated that there seemed to be a political consensus in the country as, according to press reports, the prime minister had also expressed a desire for establishing a commission.

President Alvi said the nation holds the Supreme Court in high regard and expects it to meet its expectations, adding the commission should investigate the matter based not on technicalities of law but in the real spirit of justice. He said it, undoubtedly, would be a great service to our country, as the people of Pakistan deserve clarity on such a matter of national importance.

He said in the world history, there existed myriad examples of regime change operations through conspiracies, which were later confirmed by the declassification of top secret documents. He lamented that it happened much later after the destinies of those countries had been significantly damaged by the illegal interventions.

“Who knows better than your Honour that to prove, that a smoking gun has been identified in the hand of a conspirator, or to find a possible money trail, or to identify meetings where people have been motivated towards covert action, or where people have been bought and sold, could be a vigorous exercise,” he added.

“I am of strong opinion that even recorded circumstantial evidence can lead the way towards some conclusions, based not on technicalities of law but in the real spirit of justice,” he said.

The president regretted that in Pakistani history, the people had alleged and strongly believed in many obvious but unfortunately unproven conspiracies such as the murder of the first prime minister of Pakistan Shaheed Liaquat Ali Khan, the Agartala Conspiracy case, PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s public waving of a letter and allegation of a conspiracy against him, President Ziaul Haq’s plane crash, Abbottabad incident, and many other matters that remained inconclusive.

He requested that the judicial commission should conduct an in-depth and thorough investigation into what may or may not have been planning and preparation, starting before or following the overt threat, in the form of a possible conspiracy for regime change in Pakistan.