DERA GHAZI KHAN: Taking strong exception to perceived ‘horse-trading’ in the recent Senate polls, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi called upon newly-elected chairman of the Upper House to issue a statement swearing that he ‘didn’t buy any senator’ to get to the coveted slot.
“I was advised by people not to intervene in Senate election, but I will keep interfering if something wrong is going on,” he told a public gathering in DG Khan today.
How a parliament [Senate] could serve Pakistan when its foundation is based on corruption, he said in reference to horse-trading-tainted Senate elections.
The Senate on March 11 elected opposition-backed candidates Sadiq Sanjrani as chairman and Saleem Mandviwalla as deputy chairman of the upper house of Pakistan’s parliament. Sanjrani secured 57 votes, while PML-N backed Raja Zafarul Haq secured 46 out of the total 103 cast for the seat of the Senate chairman. The election of the chairman came as a shocking blow to PML-N.
Sanjrani, an independent senator, was backed by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).
Prime minister expressed his resentment saying many tried to stop Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), but in vain. It’s a strange tradition that people ‘busy in work’ are being dragged to the courts, said the PM.
He railed against an ‘unannounced’ tradition of dragging anyone to court who worked for the betterment of Pakistan.
The prime minister said governments were removed under a conspiracy, “but people will announce their verdict with ballot.”
He, however, underlined that results in the wake of bad governance for past 15 years could not be rectified in five years. What Zardari did to Pakistan is visible to everyone and that was reason people sent him home in 2013 general elections, said the premier.
Mr. Abbasi said that PML-N government had completed a number of development programs including construction of roads, schools, hospitals, and power projects and even the opponents acknowledge this.
He said that progress and prosperity comes with the trust of people in the government. He said that the performance of PML-N government is self-explanatory and everyone knows about it.
Prime minister said that people are the ultimate decision makers and it depends upon them as to who they would vote for in the upcoming general elections.
He announced to rename the DG Khan airport after former president Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari.
