PML-N claims ‘institutions’ calling their senators

ISLAMABAD: The PML-N leadership on Thursday alleged that the government was using the state institutions and intelligence agencies for election of its candidate as the Senate chairman.

Addressing a press conference here, the former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the PML- N senators were being called by officials of an intelligence agency that they should not vote Yusuf Raza Gilani for chairmanship of the Senate.

"The officers of agencies are calling our senators asking them to use their vote in favour of the government candidate," Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, flanked by Ahsan Iqbal and Marriyum Aurangzeb, said. He presented Senator Hafiz Abdul Karim before the media who said that he received calls from two officers of the institutions who wanted him not to vote for Gilani.

"I received six to seven calls from two officers and in the last calls, they said vote our candidate," he said. Hafiz Abdul Karim, however, said that without coming under pressure, he decided to bring the facts before the people. “I will remain a worker of Nawaz Sharif till my last breath," Abdul Karim said.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told the media that elections to elect chairman and deputy chairman were being made controversial by pressuring the PML-N senators and offering them money. To a question, he said they knew names of two responsible officers who called Hafiz Abdul Karim, but it was not proper to blot their image as they have to obey orders of seniors.

“The motive is not to humiliate officers rather they have to obey orders of seniors," he alleged. “Such tactics does not augur well for strengthening of economy and democracy,” he said. Shahid Khaqan said the objective of the press conference was not to name officers rather his party wanted to talk in the national interest and in interest of democracy.

He said he was happy to hear from the DG ISPR that Pakistan Army should not be dragged into politics. He said there still time for the institutions to let the Senate chairman election to be held according to Constitution and senators are allowed vote as per their will.

To a question, Ahsan Iqbal said that improvement in the system could be seen only when state institutions become impartial and act according to the Constitution. The PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz also tweeted that the PML-N Senators were called and were being asked not vote for Gilani. She said some of them have recorded evidences of phone calls.

Meanwhile, former prime minister and candidate of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for the chairman Senate Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Thursday said he believes that the establishment was neutral at the moment.

“I hope that the establishment will also remain neutral tomorrow,” he said while talking to media persons here at the Parliament House. When a quizzing journalists asked him about the allegations of Maryam Nawaz regarding unknown phone calls to PML-N senators for not voting for the PDM candidates, Gilani said no such thing was in his knowledge at the moment.

To a question whether responsibility was also given to his son Ali Haider Gilani to manage the vote, Gilani countered questioned what Ali Haider Gilani was doing? He refused to comment, saying that the matter is sub judice and he can’t make any comment.

About the vote of no-confidence against the Senate chairman when the opposition’s 14 to 15 votes went to treasury benches, the former prime minister said this time the PDM has made arrangements.

He said General Pervez Musharraf sent him to jail and later on Musharraf administered his oath as an elected prime minister. “I was disqualified and now I have returned to Parliament after nine years,” he said.

About the statement of Information Minister Shibli Faraz of using all tactics to get the post of chairman Senate, he refused to make comment. “Yesterday, the dinner reception of Deputy Chairman Senate Saleem Mandviwalla was also attended by many senators of the government,” he said.

Meanwhile, the PPP leaders alleged that opposition Senators are receiving threatening calls and the government has abandoned ethics and morality to succeed in the Senate chairman and deputy chairman elections.

“We warn that if anything happens to our senators, the government will be held responsible for that,” the PPP Information Secretary Shazia Marri, Secretary Information Faisal Karim Kundi and Abdul Qadir Patel, MNA, said during a joint press conference.

Shazia Marri said the vote of confidence by the prime minister was illegal and unconstitutional. “The prime minister was the only one in that race and he came first.” She said the PPP has taken serious note of the statement of information minister Shibli Faraz.

Faisal Karim Kundi hoped that the independent and Jamaat-e-Islami senators will vote for PDM candidates. The government ministers said in response to the opposition’s allegations that the PDM is destined to lose and they are telling lies in desperation.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz Thursday said the government will win the election of chairman and deputy chairman Senate today (Friday) with the complete support of its allies and independent senators.

He was briefing media persons about the core committee meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan. “We are completely ready for the election and God willing, we will win,” he remarked.

The minister emphasised that just as PDM suffered from setbacks and disappointments in the first phase, their movement starting from scratch will again fail. “If the PDM long march is within the ambit of the law, it will not be stopped, as 220 million people have proved that they come to the streets not to protect corruption, but to prevent corruption,” he said.

Referring to the PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz's statement, he claimed that it had proved that she had lost election of chairman and deputy chairman. He said the prime minister had instructed to reactivate and reorganise the party, and the performance of the government must be highlighted in a better manner.

About the core committee, he said that various issues and suggestions had been considered in the meeting, and that the prime minister directed the party functionaries to take immediate steps to make the party functional and organised at the grassroots level and to hold meetings with the party workers on a daily basis.

The minister said that it was also decided in the meeting that the government and provinces would go ahead with a formal strategy to inform the nation about development, institutional reforms and performance of ministries.

Shibli Faraz noted that at present there are 99 members of the Senate out of which 47 members belong to PTI and allied parties. On the other hand, there are 52 members of the opposition. In addition, eight to nine members of the Senate are independents whom the opposition counts on its side.

He said that the main objective of the government’s strategy regarding the long marches, resignations and sit-ins of the PDM, was to expose the opposition. “The PDM had made similar announcements in the first phase as well. There was nothing but failure, frustration and disgrace on every front for them,” he said.

“This time too, if the long march of the opposition took place within the ambit of law, we would not stop it or put any obstacle. The politics of PDM is the politics of personal interests and they will have to face defeat this time as well because the people of Pakistan do not support corruption but come out against it. Proof of this is Imran Khan's successful movement,” he said.

Responding to the opposition’s allegations, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill said in a tweet that everything was ‘neutral’ for the opposition in the Senate elections when they bought votes and won.

“Now today, when they are seeing defeat, they as usual have attacked the national institutions,” he said. He said he is again asking the opposition to adopt a single narrative before the election for Senate chairman and deputy chairman.

Special Assistant to Punjab Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said the trio of Maryam Nawaz, Bilawal Zardari and Maulana Fazlur Rehman were conspiring to make the chairman Senate election controversial.

In a statement, she said those pointing fingers at the institutions should be ashamed of their act, and added that the corrupt cabal that had won a Senate seat through horse-trading should refrain from levelling allegations. “The government would not allow disrespect of the institutions,” she added.