JI lawmaker complains of money factor in Senate elections

TIMERGARA: Parliamentary leader of Jamaat-e-Islami in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and former senior minister Inayatullah Khan on Friday said that both the ruling and opposition parties had awarded Senate tickets to billionaires for allegedly buying parliamentarians’ votes.

Inayatullah said this while speaking at a ceremony in Talash area where more than 60 people from various parties announced joining the JI.

The function was also addressed by JI district amir Izaz ul Mulk Afkari, Malak Taj Muhammad Khan, former tehsil nazim Riaz Muhammad, JI tehsil emir Maulana Javed Iqbal and former tehsil councillor Muhammad Raziq.

Inayatullah said that horse-trading was a blot on the face of political parties.

Criticising the ruling Pakistan Tehrrek-e-Insaf, he said the government which had come into power with the slogan of ‘change’ had badly failed within two and a half years and disappointed the masses.

The JI leader said that youngsters, women and overseas Pakistanis had voted to the PTI with the hope that it would bring about a positive change but the government gifted them record inflation, unemployment, merit violation and growing corruption.

The JI parliamentarian condemned tear gas shelling against government employees in Islamabad a few days ago and said the interior minister rubbed salt into the wounds of government employees by saying that tear gas shells were being tested.

He demanded of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to release funds for the ongoing development projects like the Timergara Medical College, Upper Dir campus of the engineering university, Talash and Chakdara bypass roads and the Koto hydropower station.

Inayatullah said all those projects were approved by the JI lawmakers during the previous coalition government but work on them had been slow for lack of funds.

Other speakers welcomed the newcomers and said the party would never disappoint them. They asked party activists to utilise energies and time in convincing the masses to join the JI.