Tariq Saeed Peshawar
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said he firmly believed that open voting was the only way to eliminate horse-trading during the Senate elections.
He however, said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf would accept whatever decision the apex court takes in a presidential reference on the Senate polls through an open ballot.
Talking to Party leadership at governor house Peshawar during his day long visit the Prime Minister lamented that country was still lagging behind because of a certain politicians who come into power only to plunder the national wealth and benefit themselves instead of the serving nation.
Imran Khan who dashed to the provincial metropolis in the back drop of defeat of the party candidate at the hand of PML N in by-polls in Noshehra, talked extensively to the Provincial leadership of the party and discussed pace of progress over the ongoing schemes and other political matters.
He also held separate meetings with Governor Shah Farman and Chief Minister Mehmood Khan and reportedly mulled over the reasons behind the defeat of the PTI candidate in Noshehra, the home town of former Chief Minister and incumbent Defense Minister Pervez Khattak.
Defense Minister Pervez Khattak is said to have briefed the meeting on the circumstances that led to the party’s defeat and his intensions to challenge the Noshehra by-polls
result in the courts.
The prime minister, however, directed the party members during the meeting to put in their best to ensure the success of the Senate candidates nominated by the party PM.
“Every PTI MPA has to vote for Senate candidates nominated by the party by putting greed aside and vote for their ideology”.
The PM is reported to have cautioned the parliamentarian adding those who sold their votes in the 2018 Senate elections had to face embarrassment because of that.
He said PTI wanted to hold Senate polls through an open ballot in order to ensure
transparency and bring an end to the horse trading saying it is the court that has to decide on the matter and “We will accept whatever decision court takes during the proceedings,”
Speaking to the provincial PTI leadership during the meeting, the Prime Minister said that the real aim behind politics should be the service to the country men and not the
vested interest.
He regretted that the politicians have been using it to “make money” instead of serving the masses adding that the leaders of different political parties have been spending money to mould the things to their advantage and benefit that was painful.