LAHORE: President Dr Arif Alvi said on Thursday there was no reason that could justify the postponement of elections as they were required under the Constitution.

“I have full confidence in the people of Pakistan, relevant institutions, and organized political parties that they will ensure the holding of elections within the time-frame given in the Constitution,” the president said speaking to the journalists at Governor House in Lahore.

He said that Pakistan’s constitution was supreme and sacred and could not be ignored, a press release issued by the President’s Media Wing said.

Alvi said that as per the Constitution, he was to be a neutral President by all means, and he would always follow the spirit of the Constitution in all matters related to the conduct of official business by setting aside his personal likes or dislikes.

He said that the spirit behind the caretaker government was to ensure its neutrality so that elections are held in a transparent, fair, and just manner by giving all political parties a level playing field to contest the elections.

The president emphasized that this spirit should be reflected in the making of caretaker governments.

He said that this was unfortunate that several results in local bodies elections held in Sindh were delayed and reemphasized the use of technology, especially Electronic Voting Machines, to ensure speedy compilation of results and conduct free, fair and transparent elections.

“I have asked time and again the political and other relevant stakeholders that there is a dire need to lower the political as well as economic temperature which is possible only when all stakeholders and relevant institutions agreed on major issues confronting the nation like political polarization, economy, and higher inflation faced by the people,” he said and added that the international economic outlook and our own weaknesses had resulted in a dire economic situation and higher inflation.

He said that the conditionalities likely to be imposed by the IMF may further put pressure on the socioeconomic well-being of the people.

Alvi said that the 9th review meeting of the IMF would be held soon with additional conditionalities, adding, despite his worries, he was confident that Pakistan would not default and the economy would regain strength.

The president said that during his first meeting with the incumbent prime minister, he had advised him to take initiatives in the public interest, which included the conservation of electricity, gas, and water, which basically did not involve spending a lot of money but only a change in attitudes and securing the willingness of the people to adjust their business hours to minimize the use of electricity and powers.

He said that President House was completely environment friendly and energy negative as it met all its energy needs using a 1 MW solar power plant installed at the Presidency, besides exporting surplus energy to the national grid.

He said that the President’s House had been “internationally recognized as an environment-friendly Presidential Office” and was the world’s first green presidency.

“The government has neither indicated its resolve to enter into dialogue nor has it made any progress on this matter, the president added.

Alvi said that the Punjab governor had told him that no action should be taken outside the confines of the Constitution with regard to the holding of elections in the province.

Replying to another question, the President mentioned the matter of Arshad Sharif’s killing and said that no journalists or citizens deserved treatment that was beyond the legal, lawful and constitutional safeguards provided to them.

“Until someone is convicted by the competent court of law, all citizens enjoy all rights provided to them under the law and constitution,” he added.

While replying to a question, the President said that during his association with PTI, he was the one to advise about the creation of a Limited Liability Company for the transfer of donations from abroad which was the only way for the legal transfer of funds.

He said that this was absolutely legal and within the ambit of international rules and all such donations were treated in a transparent and legal manner.