We all are voters of Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani: Shafqat Mahmood

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Education, Shafqat Mahmood, on Thursday announced that the ruling political party will provide maximum support to the Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, ARY News reported.

While talking to ARY News programme “Off the Record”, Shafqat Mahmood said, “We all are voters of Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.”

“The political party of [Senate chairman] Sadiq Sanjrani is our ally and he will be provided maximum support [by the present government],” he said.

Read: Govt to thwart opposition’s bid to oust Senate chairman, PM assures Sanjrani

The education minister severely criticised the opposition leadership, saying, “They came to the power for destroying this country and they did so. If the government adopts austerity, then they also criticise this action. [Former finance minister] Ishaq Dar had destroyed the country and what knowledge do they have about austerity.”

While detailing the huge financial irregularities in public funds, Mahmood said that the former president Asif Ali Zardari and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had wasted billions on private tours which the present government has paid in term of $8 billion worth loans.

“We have to adopt austerity in every section. Previous rulers had spent billions of rupees on motorways but no expenditure was made on railway tracks. Railway is considered as the main travel medium of the common man all over the world. The present government has managed to include railway in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project as it is more beneficial for the interests of nationals as compare to the motorways.”

Mahmood challenged Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) to move to the court over the video scandal. He said, “PML-N wants to keep Nawaz Sharif inside jail forever. If they have obtained a video then why it is not being taken to the court.”

He said that the opposition party is just using the video to propagate against the government for its political gains.