ISLAMABAD          -       Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan on Saturday accused that President Dr Arif Alvi should avoid interfering into the constitutional authority of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as he had nothing to do with the announcement of election date.

He further said that the president was interfering into the constitutional powers of the electoral body, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior The remarks of interior minister came a day after president sent a letter to the chief election commissioner, seeking an urgent meeting with him on February 20 to take a decision on the announcement of dates for elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The letter says that the meeting would be held at the Presidency to discuss Section 57(1) of the Elections Act 2017, which empowers the president to announce the election date after consulting the Election Commission. “Dr Arif Alvi is President of Pakistan and he should avoid becoming a spokesperson of (PTI chairman) Imran Khan,” said Rana Sanaullah. He advised the president to uphold the sanctity of the position of his office. “It is regretful that the constitutional position of president has been converted into the office of a party’s spokesman.” The minister accused former prime minister Khan of pressurising the ECP through the office of president. He said that PTI chief was responsible for committing constitutional violations through PTI’s former National Assembly speaker, deputy speaker and the president in the past. He added that Dr Alvi was a co-accused in foreign funding case.