ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed hope that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would emerge as a victorious party in upcoming Senate elections scheduled to take place on March 3.
The Prime Minister said this while chairing a meeting of government spokespersons. The meeting discussed the current political situation and the Senate elections, while the spokespersons were briefed on government decisions.
The meeting also discussed the matter pertaining to the issuance of the ticket to Yousuf Raza Gilani, the joint candidate of the opposition alliance.
Speaking on the occasion, the Premier said the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will easily win Senate elections as the party has given tickets to the best candidates. “PTI will easily win Senate elections. The party has broken the tradition of giving Senate tickets to billionaires,” he added.
The PM further said that the expenditure of the Prime Minister’s Office was reduced from Rs506 million to Rs243 million during the PTI government’s tenure, adding that parliamentarians are standing with the party despite the reservations.
Commenting over PDM’s proposed long march, the Prime Minister went onto say that the long march of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance of 11-opposition parties, would also fail like its public rallies.
Talking to the media after the meeting, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz said that Prime Minister Imran Khan wants to end the politics of money in the Senate elections whereas horse-trading was promoted in the past.
Shibli Faraz said the PTI government wants to ensure transparency in the Senate elections and the Prime Minister has always been of the view that Senate elections should be transparent. He said misuse of vote will be prevented and merit will be ensured. The Minister said the final list of the PTI’s candidates for the Senate elections will be completed this evening.
Shibli Faraz said the future of PDM is very dark as Maryam Nawaz also wants to go abroad for so-called treatment. He said the government will not allow Maryam Nawaz to go abroad at any cost as her father Nawaz Sharif went abroad for treatment and started politics from the UK. He said travel documents, instead of a passport, will be issued to Nawaz Sharif for his return back to the homeland.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has thanked overseas Pakistanis for responding so strongly to the State Bank of Pakistan’s Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA) by sending $500 million in just five months.
In a tweet on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said that 87,833 accounts were opened from 97 countries around the world and the momentum continues to rise with $243 million coming in the last six weeks alone.
Earlier on Friday, SBP Governor Dr Reza Baqir said that accounts under Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA) initiative were opened in 97 countries while most of the inflows were investments in Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs).
“Over $300m has been invested in NPCs,” said the governor, adding that the country is not only attracting investments from Pakistani expatriates, but these RDAs will also become a more consistent, reliable and long-term source of foreign exchange.
He said together with the government, the SBP is working on initiatives to provide attractive avenues of investment and savings to overseas Pakistanis. He said RDA provides a full range of banking services and exciting investment opportunities to the Pakistani diaspora including NPCs issued by the government, as well as the stock market and real estate. – TLTP