Manipulations mount to keep voters onside

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: With the Senate elections standing just a day away, manipulation is at peak with both the government and the opposition working their guts out to keep their voters on their side.

It was in this context that Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday met MNAs and patiently listened to their mostly constituency related matters. The prime minister assured the MPs that their reservations would be addressed and all the problems resolved.

He is also expected to continue to interact with the treasury legislators on Tuesday (today), including those belonging to the allied parties, in his chamber at the Parliament House. Members of the National Assembly Gul Dad Khan, Gul Zafar Khan, Jawad Hussain, Muhammad Iqbal Afridi and Sajid Khan called on Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Others, who also met the prime minister, included Dr. Haider Ali, Noor Alam Khan, Azmi Riaz, Zill-e-Huma, Nafiza Khattak, Shandana Gulzar and Muhammad Aslam Bhootani (independent MNA, who sits on the treasury benches in the NA), Tahir Iqbal Chaudhry, Amir Gopang, Sardar Nasrullah Khan Dareshk, Sardar Muhammad Jaffer Khan Leghari, Muhammad Sanaullah Khan Masti Khel, Niaz Ahmad Jhakar and Amjad Ali Khan Niazi, Saira Bano, Ms. Fauzia Arshad, Muhammad Jamali and Munawara Bibi, Ghaus Bakhsh Mehar, Munazza Hasan, Shaheen Naz, Federal Minister for Finance Asad Umar, Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri, Federal Ministers Pervez Khattak, Asad Umar and Murad Syed were also present in the meeting.

Senator Sajjad Hussain Turi also met the prime minister in addition to MNA Fakhar Zaman. Besides, Makhdoom Samiul Hassan Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon also met the prime minister. During these meetings Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak, Religious Affairs Minister Pir Noorul Haq Qadri and Special Assistant to PM Malik Muhammad Amir Dogar were also present.

The contest between Finance Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh and former prime minister and Pakistan Democratic Movement candidate Yousaf Raza Gilani is being seen as the toughest one for the general seat from the federal capital.

The parliament lobbies, the cafeteria and the Parliament Lodges wore a festive look with guess games on among the legislators.

It goes without saying that on papers, the government-nominated candidate Sheikh has a clear edge over his rival Gilani. However, given the Supreme Court’s opinion on the presidential reference that the Senate voting would be through the secret ballot, speculations are rife in the federal capital about a more interesting bout between the two.

The government had pushed for an open ballot in the Senate polls to stem the chances of sale and purchase of votes, and promulgated an ordinance too for this purpose, besides moving a constitutional amendment bill in the National Assembly a few weeks back.

The opposition saw it as a ploy to protect the treasury’s own lawmakers from voting against the party policy.

Meanwhile, PTI MPA from PS-100 Karachi, Karim Bakhsh Gabol, recorded a video statement in which he categorically said that the party’s government had “failed to deliver for the masses”. “We are hearing things about some PTI candidates who got the Senate tickets. We are hearing that they received the tickets after paying money for it,” the MPA said, adding that he would never vote for such candidates, reported a private news channel.

Gabol said he was always a member of the PTI and would continue to remain so. However, the lawmaker said he would vote only for the candidate that seems satisfactory to him.

Another MPA of the party from Sindh, Shaharyar Shar alleged that the party issued tickets for the Senate elections to candidates from Sindh without consulting the MPAs of the party.

“I raised the problems of Sindh in front of the prime minister and the governor but they did not listen,” he said. “They (PTI government) do not have any programme for Sindh.”

Shar said that he and others would not vote for the candidates selected by the prime minister, adding that the party’s MPAs from Sindh were “upset with them”.

He said PTI MPA Khurram Sher Zaman’s statement about him and other MPAs being kidnapped was false. “Who can kidnap us? I am right here in my house,” he said.

Earlier, PTI MPA Khurram Sher Zaman had said that three MPAs of the party had been kidnapped. “Their last location was in Defence,” he said, speaking to media. “These MPAs were in contact with us,” added Zaman.

Reacting to Karim Bakhsh Gabol’s statement against the PTI, Zaman said that the MPA had always spoken out against the PPP. He alleged that Gabol had been forced to issue a video statement against the PTI, adding that he was sure it was the PPP that was coercing the PTI MPAs to issue statements against the party.

“We now have institutions (at our beck and call). We could have done the same thing,” he said, referring to the alleged coercion that the PTI MPAs are going through.

Zaman said that the Sindh government was continuously threatening the PTI MPAs, adding that if any harm were to come to them, the provincial government would be held responsible.