Speaking to The Correspondent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leader Senator Faisal Javed Khan said that Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has no future, and its call for a long march is “a repeat telecast” of 2019.
The Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting made these comments in the context of the approaching Senate elections, and the debate over changing electoral rules to allow open balloting.
Faisal Javed criticized the PDM’s politics, saying that the people had rejected it.
“To have a future you need a past, and they have no past. In 2020 they started, and in 2020 they finished. There is no question of the PDM being successful because they have failed; their rallies failed, their calls for resignations failed. People refused to resign because they do not want to protect the corruption of a few, at the cost of their seats.”
He added that the opposition’s still-unannounced long march felt like déjà vu and a repeat broadcast, saying that “they have already done it in 2019.”
“They people have refused them, they will never come out to protect corruption, they will only come out to end corruption.”
When asked to comment on PDM’s claim that s PTI’s internal party rifts had forced it to opt for open ballots, the Senator said: “We have to understand that Prime Minister wants to eliminate corruption from all levels, and the opposition – PDM – wants to protect corruption at all levels. We know in all Senate elections people give bribes to win and buy votes. So, we need to hold Senate elections in a transparent manner, that is the spirit of it.”
“An open balloting, we are bringing it in to ensure corruption is eliminated and transparency is ensured,” he added.
Elections (Amendment) Ordinance 2021
The Government on February 6 promulgated an ordinance amending the Elections Act 2017 for the use of an “open and identifiable ballot” in the coming and future Senate elections.
The move elicited a strong response from the opposition, which had previously rejected the government’s attempt to introduce the 26th Constitution Amendment Bill in the National Assembly to hold Senate polls through open ballots.
Opposition parties alleged the government is tabling the bill because it “fears that the PTI lawmakers will not vote for it”.
