ISLAMABAD: Foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, along with several other PTI leaders, on Wednesday held a press conference after the party's victory in the Senate elections and said that PM Imran Khan will seek a vote of confidence from the parliament.
Qureshi was accompanied by the Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi, Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood, and Minister for Information and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, among others.
The foreign minister said that the decision to seek a vote of confidence from the parliament was taken by the premier after consultation with other PTI members.
"Today was a sad day for democracy," the foreign minister said after PTI candidate Abdul Hafeez Sheikh lost the Senate's general seat from Islamabad to PPP candidate Yousaf Raza Gillani.
He said that after a video of Yousaf Raza Gillani's son Haider Ali Gillani surfaced last night, his true self was exposed.
"I regret to say that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) failed to ensure transparency in the Senate polls," he said, adding that after the controversial video and audio (featuring Ali Haider Gillani) surfaced a night before the election, Fawad Chaudhry tried to approach the ECP but there was no one there.
"The ECP was entrusted with a huge responsibility, but it [failed to deliver]."
Taking a jibe at the PPP, FM Qureshi said that "those who claimed to be the champions of democracy have trampled upon it," adding that [corrupt] Opposition leaders have come together [under the Pakistan Democratic Movement banner] to practice "the politics of escapism."
"We will ensure that this politics of escapism is buried forever," he said.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi went on to say that Prime Minister Imran Khan always patiently listens to members of the party, adding that "if someone was upset, they should have openly walked away from the party."
"We will continue to fight the battle of good and evil," he said. "PM Imran Khan always took a high moral ground when it comes to politics and people are well aware of that."