President Alvi acknowledges failure of ‘backdoor’ talks to bring political tensions down in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s President Dr. Arif Alvi confirmed on Saturday he was trying to bring down political tensions in the country by helping political actors iron out their differences over key issues, reported the local media, though he acknowledged there had been no breakthrough in the “backdoor” negotiations. 
The president issued the statement during a media interaction at the Governor House, Punjab, in the eastern city of Lahore. 
Political temperature has remained high in Pakistan since former prime minister Imran Khan was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote in April. Khan described the downfall of his administration as a result of a foreign conspiracy while questioning the legitimacy of the new coalition government. He also held political rallies across the country to demand early elections in Pakistan. 
President Alvi, who is also a leader of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, said he tried to facilitate negotiations to discuss the possibility of early elections, though he added that his efforts had “failed.” 
“I am trying to reduce tensions and bring all political parties to negotiating table to save democracy from derailing and improve situation,” The Express Tribune quoted him as saying. 
He acknowledged that his constitutional responsibilities did not require him to mediate among various power centers while explaining he was playing that role as the supreme commander of the armed forces. 
The president also admitted he was striving to reduce tensions between the top leader of his party, who leveled new accusations against top military officials since a recent gun attack on his anti-government protest march, and state “institutions that matter.” 
“Backdoor talks are under way with the institutions that matter to sort out the differences (among the players),” Dawn reported him as saying. “If the talks succeed, they will be in the public domain. I am playing the role of a mediator as the supreme commander of the armed forces, but I am not a broker.” 
Asked about the selection of the new army chief, Alvi said the constitution did not allow consultation over the appointment in an oblique reference to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s reported conversations over the issue with his brother Nawaz Sharif in London. 
It may be recalled that Pakistan’s outgoing army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was also in Lahore on Saturday where he interacted with officers and soldiers of the Lahore Corps and Pakistan Rangers Punjab. 
However, there were no reports of any high-profile meetings behind closed doors in the city.