PRESIDENT Arif Alvi has said he is not convinced that the United States had hatched a conspiracy to oust Imran Khan from power, Dawn.com reported on Monday.

Ever since his ouster, the former PM has insisted that the no-confidence motion against him was part of a foreign conspiracy, claiming that a cable received from the ambassador on March 7, a day before the opposition officially filed the no-trust move against him, was evidence of the conspiracy.

But in an interview with journalist Asma Shirazi broadcast on Aaj TV on Monday, the president said: “I sent that letter to the chief justice. I am convinced that there must be a 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.”

“I also said that you won’t get a smoking gun on it,” he said, adding that he had requested the “Supreme Court to take into account the circumstantial evidence”.

During the interview, President Alvi also said that “broader consultation” on the appointment of the chief of army staff (COAS) was a must so that a consensus could be developed.

Responding to a question about his role in the decision, President Alvi said that he would approve the appointment of the next COAS in line with the procedure laid down in the Constitution and asked that a summary of the appointment be sent to him after the consultation has been completed.

He recalled that the opposition was consulted on the appointment of the army chief in the past as well, when PTI chief Imran Khan extended the three-year term of General Qamar Bajwa in 2019.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2022