Mohsin Aziz awarded PTI ticket to contest for Senate for second term

PESHAWAR: Noted industrialist and politician Mohsin Aziz has said that neither he nor any other candidate of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PT)) applied for the party ticket to contest the elections for the Senate as the leadership made decision about the final ticket-holders.

Mohsin Aziz, who belongs to a leading family of businessmen from Peshawar, was awarded the PTI ticket to contest for a general seat of the Senate from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). He has already completed one term as a Senator.

“Like other PTI candidates who were awarded the tickets, I didn’t apply for the party ticket to contest the Senate elections. The PTI leadership finalized the list of candidates. I had obtained nomination papers from the Election Commission of Peshawar and will now submit my papers along with the PTI ticket,” he told The News when he was approached for his comments.

When asked if he was rewarded with the ticket due to his loyalty to the PTI and Prime Minister Imran Khan or on account of his performance in the Senate, Mohsin Aziz replied that he doesn’t know but it is a fact that he has been loyal to the party and its founder and had also strived to perform well as a member of the Senate.

“I was among the most vocal members of the Senate. I defended my party and its government and replied to criticism by the opposition Senators who were in large numbers. It was a tough job,” he remarked.

Mohsin Aziz pointed out that due to his background as a businessman and knowledge he focused on issues such as the economy, energy, net hydel profits for KP and exports. “As a member of Senate sub-committees on petroleum and natural resources, finance, etc, I highlighted the relevant issues and defended the government policies, including the budget. We opposed certain decisions about privatization taken by the previous government and led a team of Senators to visit Peshawar and inspect the airport and recommend its expansion,” he added.

Known as a philanthropist willing to donate to humanitarian and pro-poor causes, Mohsin Aziz also gave handsome donations to the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital. When asked if this could be a reason also for getting the PTI ticket for the second time, he said it was true that he gave a donation when Imran Khan decided to set up the hospital in Peshawar, but he doesn’t believe that this was the reason that he got the party ticket to contest the Senate elections. “I had requested that my name as a donor should not be disclosed, but even then my name was announced at the fund-raising event in Peshawar in 2012. Imran Khan then came and sat with me to honour me for my donation to the hospital,” he recalled.