President Dr Arif Alvi has said he is “not convinced” that a foreign conspiracy was hatched to remove PTI Chief Imran Khan from power. However, in the same breath he has called for a probe into the issue.

The president made the statement in an exclusive interview with Aaj TV’s Asma Shirazi for her programme Faisla Aap Ka on Monday.

In the wide-ranging interview, the president called for a “broader consultation” on the appointment of the next chief of army staff (COAS) in November, when the current COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa retires.

President Alvi said he was impartial as the president of the country and his affiliation with the PTI was a thing from the past. “The party is my past. It is a very good past,” he said.

Dr Alvi has reportedly tried to act as a mediator between the PMLN-led government and Imran Khan, who is preparing to march on Islamabad with his supporters.

In the interview with Shirazi, Dr Alvi said that there are so many problems in the country that “a maverick” alone could not solve them. Therefore it is important that the political gulf is bridged, he said.

He said that a president could make efforts to bridge that gulf.

On a question about Imran Khan’s refusal to hold talks with the government and a similar line taken by the ruling coalition, Dr Alvi said that Imran Khan became “extremely frustrated” when his government was removed and especially in the manner it was removed.

“After becoming frustrated, he decided that he would not sit” in the National Assembly, he said.

Asked if Imran Khan’s move to quit the National Assembly was the right decision, Dr Alvi said, “If I were consulted, I might have offered different advice.”

In response to a question about Imran’s march and the military’s role, the president said that the military has a constitutional role to play.

‘Not convinced’

President Alvi recently called for improved diplomatic relations between Pakistan and the United States.

The bilateral relations were hit after Imran Khan named the United States as the country behind his ouster and alleged that US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu issued a threat to then-Pakistan Ambassador in Washington Asad Majeed for the removal of Khan.

Majeed allegedly communicated the threat to the foreign ministry in Islamabad in a diplomatic cipher, which Khan later used as evidence of US meddling in Pakistan’s affairs, referring to the cipher as the “threat letter” at his public rallies.

However, Dr Alvi said that he was not convinced about the claims that the United States hatched a conspiracy to dislodge Khan, though he demanded a probe.

“I sent that letter to the chief justice. I am convinced that there must be probe on it. I am not convinced on the fact that a conspiracy was hatched. But I have my doubts [and] there must be a probe,” said Dr Alvi.

The president said that he had already cautioned that the probe was unlikely to unearth a “smoking gun”.

“You don’t find a smoking gun in such things,” he said and referred to several past episodes of Pakistan’s political history, including the murder of Liaquat Ali Khan, the first prime minister of the country.

“Ayub Khan wrote in his book, Friends Not Masters, that we need friends not masters. Bhutto sahib penned Myth of Independence. He waved a piece of paper in Rawalpindi when he was removed. Then Ziaul Haq’s plane crashed. There were no investigations. There was the Ojri Camp disaster and Abbottabad conspiracy. There was Memogate conspiracy. Nobody knew anything,” the president said.

“So I requested the Supreme Court to take into account the circumstantial evidence,” he added.

COAS appointment

President Alvi as the head of the state will grant his assent to the appointment of the next COAS later this month or early next month, though the Constitution limits his function in this to a ceremonial one.

Responding to a question about his role, the president said that he would approve the appointment of the next COAS in line with the procedure laid out in the constitution.

President Alvi said that consultation must be held on this key appointment, but he desired that a summary for the appointment is sent to him after the consultation has been completed.

Without naming PMLN or its chief, Dr Alvi said that he had read in the newspapers that PMLN was holding a consultation in London with Nawaz Sharif.

“So, you think that Khan sahib should also be consulted?” asked Shirazi.

There must be a broader consultation so that a consensus could be developed, said the president.

Dr Avli said that in the past, too, opposition was consulted on the appointment of the COAS. A similar discussion with the then-opposition was held when Imran Khan extended the three-year term of General Bajwa in 2019, the president said.

In 2019, the Parliament approved a law to extend Gen Bajwa’s terms after questions were raised before the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The law must have been introduced in the Parliament after a closure was reached during a consultation, the president said.

Not Khan’s advocate

Asked if he believed the military should be neutral when it comes to politics of the country, the president said, “It must be. Pakistan’s constitution does not see any role for the military to play in politics.”

But Imran Khan has been demanding the military to end its neutrality, said Shirazi.

The president said, “You could ask Khan sahib what he meant by that. Because he could offer a better explanation… He could better help you understand [what he meant]. I can’t explain to you what he said, neither I am his advocate. He has been and is my leader.

Arif Alvi said that before being nominated for the election of president by Imran Khan, he spent 22 long years with Khan when he and Khan both struggled “together” to achieve a dream.

Watch the full interview here.