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Thursday March 28, 2024

Ali Haider Gilani's video where he allegedly tells lawmaker to waste Senate vote, surfaces

Ali Haider Gilani refutes allegations of bribing lawmakers, says seeking votes is his right

By Web Desk
March 02, 2021

Former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani's son Ali Haider Gilani's video has surfaced in which he is allegedly telling a lawmaker to waste his vote in the upcoming Senate elections.

The video was tweeted by the PTI's official Twitter account. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill described it as "shameless", calling on the ECP to take action against Gilani.

Yousaf Raza Gilani is contesting the Senate elections against the PTI's Abdul Hafeez Shaikh from Islamabad. His son, Haider Ali Gillani, is a Punjab MPA.

It isn't possible to make out who Ali Haider Gilani is speaking to allegedly about wasting the Senate vote.

Gill held a press conference, lashing out at the former prime minister. "We all know how a necklace was stolen from a Turkish princess," he said. "You saw how one of his children was also involved in the ephedrine scandal."

Gill said that from the video, it can be made out that Gillani's son is telling lawmakers to either "vote for us or waste your vote".

"This video of corruption has once again proven that Imran Khan was right when he said this mafia will never let a transparent Senate election take place," he said.

He urged the ECP to take action against Gillani according to its Constitution, adding that the electoral body was an independent institution and the government was ready to provide it with the necessary assistance.

The prime minister's aide called for strict implementation of the Supreme Court of Pakistan's recent opinion on the open balloting of Senate election, saying that otherwise the country will have to suffer such instances of humiliation in the days to come.

Ali Haider Gilani responds to accusations

Ali Haider Gilani responded to the allegations by holding a news conference, saying that he had met a lot of people whilst campaigning for his father.

"All the NA members are our constituents," he said. "All of them are honourable for us," he said. He lashed out at the prime minister, saying that he had attempted to earn lawmakers' loyalty by issuing development funds for them.

Gilani said that he had met the PTI lawmakers to secure vote for his father, adding that it was his right. "Not once, I will meet them for a hundred times as it is my right," he said. "For every election, we have been involved in seeking the 'votes of conscience'. We don't believe in buying or selling votes," he added.

The former prime minister's son said he was asking for the vote of "love and conscience" from the PTI MPAs, adding that many members wanted to vote for his father instead of Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.