Ali Haider Gillani confirms meeting with PTI MNAs ahead of Senate polls

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Ali Haider Gillani on Tuesday confirmed that the video aired on ARY News showing his meeting with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers ahead of Senate polls 2021, ARY News reported.

While addressing a press conference along with PPP MNA Shazia Marri, the PPP leader Haider Gillani said that he met with PTI lawmakers last week to discuss things related to Senate polls.

According to him, the lawmakers are his friends and he did nothing wrong by meeting them.

“I met with PTI MNAs and told them how to waste their votes. The MNAs from PTI are also my friends and I did nothing wrong,” he told the media, adding that he will meet them again on their wish.

Ali Musa Gillani said that he had only told lawmakers how to waste Senate vote, adding that no matters related to selling of the Senate vote were discussed during the meeting.

He further said several PTI lawmakers are angry with their party leadership over the award of Senate tickets and some of the PTI MPAs from Sindh have shown their reservations also.

“I only asked them to vote for Senate candidate from Islamabad Yousuf Raza Gillani after they expressed their reservations over PTI candidate Hafeez Sheikh,” he added.

With Senate elections just around the corner, a video of Ali Haider Gillani, son of former prime minister and Senate candidate Yousuf Raza Gillani has surfaced which exposed the PPP leader “buying vote” for upcoming upper house polls.

The video obtained by ARY News shows a PPP leader asking the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA to “sell his vote”. Ali Haider Gillani was also telling the PTI lawmaker how to waste his Senate vote.

The video of Ali Haider Gillani was recorded a week back.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said on Tuesday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will take action against party lawmakers involved in alleged horse-trading ahead of Senate polls 2021.

In a statement, the federal minister said that the party knows the PTI lawmakers who had met with former prime minister and Senate candidate Yousuf Raza Gillani’s son Ali Haider Gillani ahead of Senate polls.

There will be a one-to-one contest between Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh and former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani for a general seat.

Currently, the National Assembly has 341 seats for lawmakers from across the country. The ruling PTI holds 157 seats, PML-N 83, PPP 55, 15 MMA, MQM-P 7, BAP 5, PML-Q 4, BNP 4, GDA 3, AML 1, ANP 1, JWP 1, and four are independent members.

Senate election: Ali Haider Gillani confirms meeting with PTI MNAs, says did nothing wrong