ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has decided to seek a vote of confidence from parliamentarians following the victory of Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi announced on Wednesday.
The Foreign Minister was addressing a press conference in Islamabad along with Federal Ministers Asad Umar, Shafqat Mehmood, Ali Zaidi, Shireen Mazari, Hammad Azahar Special Assistant on Political Communication Shehbaz Gill, and Senator Faisal Javed.
“The Prime Minister, in consultation with other PTI members, has decided to seek a vote of confidence from the parliament,” the foreign minister announced, adding that it should be made clear who stood where after today’s vote.
Lashing out at Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), he said, “I regret to say that the ECP failed to ensure transparency in the Senate polls,” adding that after the controversial video, featuring Ali Haider Gillani, surfaced, 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,” he added. He urged PTI workers to believe that the PTI would compete with the opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).
“They have united but have no ideological basis for their union. They do politics of self-interest and want to continue with such politics but we will bury it,” he added.
Criticizing the PPP, the foreign minister said that those who claimed to be the champions of democracy have trampled upon it. “Corrupt leaders have come together to practice the politics of escapism,” he added.
Qureshi further said that Imran Khan always patiently listens to members of the party, adding that “if someone was upset, they should have left openly left the party.”
In a major upset to the government, the joint opposition candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani won the hotly contested general seat from Islamabad, beating PTI’s Abdul Hafeez Shaikh. According to unofficial and unverified results, Gilani won 169 votes, while Shaikh bagged 164 votes.
On the woman seat from Islamabad, PTI’s Fauzia Arshad secured 174 votes, while opposition alliance candidate Farzana Kausar got 164 votes. Sources have informed that seven of the total ballots cast in the National Assembly have been set aside; they may be deemed invalid and discarded.
Following the shocking defeat of PTI candidate Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in the Senate elections, the members of the opposition are questioning the moral justification of Prime Minister Imran Khan to stay at the helm. On the other hand, the government accused the opposition of indulging in corrupt practices to win the Senate elections.
