'I had a lot of fun; will enjoy spectacle of Opposition beating each other,' says Pervez Khattak

PESHAWAR: Defence Minister Pervez Khattak said Sunday he had "a lot of fun" during the election of the Senate chairman and deputy chairman earlier this week and that he "will enjoy spectacle of Opposition beating each other" in future.

Taking digs at the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) — the Opposition parties' anti-government coalition — for its defeat during the Senate chairman and deputy chairman elections, Pervez Khattak said it was "a great game".

"Everyone took revenge on each other… I had a lot of fun and this game will continue," Khattak said, days after the PDM's Senate hopefuls Yousaf Raza Gillani of the PPP and the JUI-F's Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri lost.

He added that the "PML-N took revenge on the PPP" in the second phase, or Senate deputy chairman election, and that seven votes were rejected after being cast "directly" in order to ensure that "they know how to give a shock".

Fazlur Rehman, the PDM chief, was also "deceived", he remarked. "They will keep beating each other in the same way and we will enjoy watching this spectacle."

Khattak observed that the anti-government alliance was "fooling" Fazl and that "he should come to his senses and leave the PDM's presidency".

"Tomorrow, if they march for a sit-in, they would leave 'Maulana' half way through," the minister stated.

Earlier this week, the Opposition's panel faced a defeat in the election of Senate's chairman and deputy chairman, with the ruling PTI's candidates Sadiq Sanjarani and Mirza Mohammad Afridi emerging successful.