PM says ECP role disputed

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday said offers had already started coming to their senators ahead of election for the Senate chairman.

Chairing a meeting of the party spokespersons here, Imran said he knew which senator was offered what adding that the role of the Election Commission was controversial and it did what was done in the Daska by-election.

Referring to the recent Senate elections and emergence of a video, allegedly involving Yusuf Raza Gilani’s son and two MNAs, he said Yusuf Raza Gilani had blatantly trampled the morals and the nation was closely watching his actions.

He regretted that the PTI petitions were not taken up while a disqualified person won the Senate election on the basis of money and was now dreaming of winning the chairman Senate polls.

“The corrupt clique is now trying to get a corrupt person elected as the Senate chairman,” he continued. He said the Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani would be their strong candidate for the Senate chairman.

The prime minister said he would close the doors of corruption through electoral reforms. He said they would endeavor to ensure the upcoming elections for the Senate chairman through the open ballot.

He directed the spokespersons to expose the so-called narrative of the opposition’s money. Meanwhile, chairing a meeting on commodity prices, the prime minister directed his economic team to review every tax levied on edible oil, petroleum products and other items so as to provide relief to the people by reducing tax burden as much as possible. He said the biggest burden of indirect taxes fell on the poor so out-of-box solutions should be proposed to reduce it.

Federal ministers Khusro Bakhtiar, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Muhammad Hammad Azhar, Syed Fakhar Imam, Asad Umar, Advisor Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Special Assistants Nadeem Babar, Dr. Waqar Masood, Tabish Gohar, Punjab Food Minister Abdul Aleem Khan and secretaries of relevant departments were present in the meeting.

Punjab Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht and chief secretaries of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa attended the meeting via video link. A detailed briefing was given to the prime minister on strategies for meeting wheat production, consumption and needs in the country and controlling wheat and flour prices.

Hammad Azhar briefed the prime minister on sugar production and prices. As per the directions of the prime minister, various proposals were also considered to ensure possible reduction in the prices of edible oil, petroleum products and gas.

The chief secretaries gave a briefing on arrangements for meeting the wheat need in the provinces, especially during the month of Ramazan. Imran said ensuring supply of basic commodities like flour and sugar at reasonable prices was the top priority of the government.

He said a programme was being formulated to provide direct subsidy to the deserving and poor people in the field of basic necessities. He directed keeping a check on the prices of basic food items like flour making advance arrangements in this regard while learning from the past experience.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Digital Media Focal Person Dr. Arsalan Khalid and General Manager of Digital Media Wing Imran Ghazali called on Prime Minister Imran Khan. Shibli briefed the prime minister on the Digital Advertising Policy proposed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The prime minister was informed that currently there were 93 million Internet users in Pakistan while this number was steadily increasing.

Currently, there is no federal government’s digital media advertising mechanism. After approval, it would be the first policy in the history of the government of Pakistan under which the government will be able to advertise on digital and social media platforms through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Pakistan’s digital media industry is expanding rapidly. The policy will not only encourage new digital platforms and publishers, but will also benefit economy.

The endorsement of digital media will also encourage the corporate sector to use digital media as an advertising campaign. Giving details of Digital Media Development Program, Dr. Arsalan Khalid said this multi-faceted program will enable development and promotion of Pakistani digital media and digital literacy at the grassroots level.