Election of Senate chairman: Naek fears tampering with record

ISLAMABAD: Former chairman Senate Farooq H Naek on Tuesday said the PPP application for certified copies of documents related to chairman Senate elections is pending with the Senate Secretariat which is closed until Wednesday. As soon as the same are obtained, they would knock at the court doors to obtain their lawful right by ensuring that Senator Yusuf Raza Gilani is declared elected as chairman Senate.

Senator Naek feared tampering with the record of the election of chairman Senate and said that due to “our stance against the Senate Secretariat, we gravely apprehend tampering with key evidence which shows unjust treatment meted out to Gillani as well as his voters and would like to bring our apprehension on record”.

Naek, who was the polling agent of Gilani in the election of chairman Senate, said that on 12-03-2021, the entire world saw the injustice which took place in the name of election of chairman Senate. “As such I, on behalf of my fellow Senator Yusuf Raza Gillani, plan to challenge the unlawful rejection of seven votes validly polled in favour of Gilani by the then presiding officer Senator Muzaffar Hussain Shah,” he said.

He said: “In this respect, we plan to approach the Islamabad High Court and protest the unjust and unconstitutional treatment meted out to Gilani as well as his voters during the process of elections to the post of chairman Senate. We also plan to highlight the role of the Senate Secretariat in unlawfully influencing the election of chairman Senate, which is evident from the instructions issued by it on the polling day.”

He said: “To safeguard the record, we have already filed an application for sealing of entire record of the election held to the post of chairman Senate including the recovered spy cameras and all other materials.”

Furthermore, he said that to bring the entire record before the competent forum, “we have sought certified copies of various documents including the seven challenged votes, the instructions to Senators pasted in the Senate Hall, the ruling of the presiding officer challenging the rejected votes, the ruling of the presiding officer declaring Sadiq Sanjrani as chairman Senate as well as the proceedings of the Senate with respect to the arguments advanced by me on the Senate floor as the polling agent of Gilani”.