Amid the ongoing crackdown on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and massive pre-poll rigging by the state authorities, Pakistani President Arif Alvi has finally spoken up.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, Alvi wrote, “Let us not become a state where human rights & dignity are trampled upon with impunity. Incidents of paper snatching, brutal action on protestors, and now treating an ex foreign minister from two regimes in an undignified manner must draw the attention of the authorities. Detracting arguments that similar incidents have happened before do not cut ice because Pakistan must change, and if we as a nation agree, there is no better time than starting now.”
Let us not become a state where human rights & dignity are trampled upon with impunity. Incidents of paper snatching, brutal action on protestors, and now treating an ex foreign minister from two regimes in an undignified manner must draw the attention of the authorities.…
— Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) December 27, 2023
Alvi’s statement came hours after the Punjab Police manhandled Pakistan’s former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi while re-arresting him at Adiala Jail in a fabricated case. Qureshi is currently serving as vice-chairman of the PTI, the party founded by ousted prime minister Imran Khan.
In his statement, Alvi also highlighted the issues like human rights violations in Pakistan, “pre-poll rigging” and the “brutal action on protestors” from Balochistan who are currently staging demonstrations in the federal capital Islamabad against the state’s security and law enforcement agencies, which are allegedly involved kidnapping and killing of Baloch people.
On the other hand, massive complaints are pouring in about the pre-poll rigging by the state authorities ahead of Pakistan’s general elections scheduled to be held on February 8, 2023. The PTI is being targeted as its leaders and supporters are being arrested without charge and put into jails.
Initially, PTI candidates were not being allowed to file their nomination papers for the Feb 8 elections and now they are not being allowed to appear before the returning officers for scrutiny of their nomination papers.
