PM apprehends malpractices in Senate elections

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has once again expressed apprehensions over malpractices used in the recent Senate elections.
In his tweets on Thursday, the Prime Minister said, “These elections showed how we are losing the moral compass.” He said without justice and rule of law, states disintegrate because once moral authority is lost, deal making with the powerful criminals is resorted to.
The Prime Minister also quoted Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) who stated that many nations were destroyed when there was one law for the powerful and another for the weak. He said throughout history, moral decay and corruption have destroyed states because without moral authority states cannot deliver justice. He further said that once a country loses its moral authority, “deal-making (NRO) with the powerful criminals is resorted to”.
The Premier’s warning comes a day before the Senate will hold elections to appoint a new chairman and deputy chairman. The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf also alleged horse-trading in the recently held elections in the upper house of parliament.
In a major upset in the Senate elections, Yousaf Raza Gilani, the joint candidate of opposition parties, was elected senator from Islamabad, by defeating Abdul Hafeez Shaikh of the ruling party.
Gilani, a former prime minister who belongs to the PPP, enjoyed the support of the PDM, an alliance cobbled together by a dozen opposition parties against the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Following the defeat of Shaikh in the March 3 Senate elections, the Prime Minister took a vote of confidence in the National Assembly and received 178 votes, more than he had received at the time of his election in 2018.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday warned the opposition parties that he is not among those who “would leave the battleground” as the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) amasses support for its intended long march later this month.
The Prime Minister said this while chairing a meeting of the PTI’s core committee where senior ministers and party leaders discussed the Senate elections and the upcoming anti-government long march.
“The objective of PDM’s long march is not to provide any relief to the masses but to seek an NRO,” said the Premier. “Neither did I ever respond to pressure before nor will I respond to it now,” he vowed.
The PM stressed that the PTI was elected to power to “change the system” hence compromising with those who had looted the country is out of the question. “We have to keep all options in mind, including the possibility of fresh elections,” said the prime minister. “We have the support of the masses, hence will not back down on any forum.”
Speaking about his government’s efforts to stabilise the economy, the Premier said he has, through tremendous difficulty and hard work, steered the country out of the economic crisis that it was facing.
Sources revealed that the prime minister reviewed the performances of the federal and provincial governments during the party’s core committee meeting. Saifullah Niazi and Amir Kiyani briefed the Premier on the PTI’s organisational matters.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed the secretaries of all federal ministries to visit Balochistan province every month.
According to the Prime Minister Office, the direction is aimed at effectively addressing the sense of deprivation of the people of Balochistan and the province’s problems.
The Prime Minister directed that the secretaries must address the issues pertaining to their ministries, divisions and departments on priority basis by visiting Balochistan at least once a month. The federal secretaries will send a detailed report to the Prime Minister Office after their visits to the province.
It emerged that the federal secretaries will devise a visit programme after consulting the Balochistan chief secretary, besides informing the Premier.
The Premier has earlier pledged many times that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led federal government will extend every possible help to the people of the province.
Earlier in February, in a bid to facilitate the farmers in Balochistan, PM Imran Khan had approved the solarisation of tube wells in the province. Presiding over a meeting in Islamabad, PM Imran Khan had directed the Power Division and the provincial government to prepare a comprehensive plan for the execution of the solarisation project within a stipulated time frame. He had maintained that the project will not only ensure uninterrupted power supply to the farmers but also help address the issue of losses in the power sector. – TLTP