Appointment of new army chief: Alvi seeks consensus among all parties

KARACHI: President Dr Arif Alvi on Saturday said that if relations between PTI Chairman Imran Khan and the establishment had deteriorated, it was their job to improve them.

He said there should be a consensus among all the political parties over the appointment of the new army chief, as it is a matter of great importance, adding that politicians and parliamentarians should sit together to address the issue.

Giving an interview to a private news channel, President Alvi said Imran Khan has expressed his view about the appointment of the new army chief, adding that the political parties should develop a consensus over the matter as in the past, such issues had become cause of violation of the Constitution. He further said the matters related to holding early elections could be discussed as well as the impact caused by the floods, adding that he would himself think over it to what extent the elections could get delayed.

When asked by anchorperson whether he belongs to the PTI, the president said his approach concurred with the PTI as he began his journey to eliminate corruption from the country. However, being in Aiwan-e-Sadr, he does not have any political affiliations.