After the discovery of the hidden cameras inside the Senate polling booth, the opposition and government lawmakers have engaged in a war of words, blaming each other for the installation of spy cameras meant to compromise the secrecy of the vote.
The cameras were discovered by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Musadik Malik earlier in the day. According to Senator Malik, the cameras were positioned to record the ballot and senators at the time of the voting for the Senate Chairman and Deputy Chairman.
Addressing a press conference outside the Parliament House, Senator Malik said that they were directed by their parties to inspect the booth before the Senate Chairman election. “Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and I went to the polling station on the directives of our parties to check the polling booth,” said Dr Malik and added that they found “hidden cameras” in the booth.
Senator Khokhar termed the presence of the cameras in the booth as an attempt to steal the election. He demanded an investigation into the episode. “If the polling booth was protected by current the chairman and his men, this means a plan was there to steal the election,” claimed the senator.
Drama by Opposition
On the other hand, Information Minister Shibli Faraz and Senator Faisal Javed held a press conference in response to the opposition allegations. The minister alleged that the cameras were installed by the opposition to “stage a drama”.
The minister said the staffers in the Senate Secretariat were hired during the PPP’s tenure (2008-2013) and the government will investigate the matter thoroughly to expose the “proxies of the PPP and PML-N” in the Senate. The minister stated that if the government wished to make such moves, it would have done so during the Senate polls.
Senator Javed, however, called Khokhar and Malik, the opposition lawmakers who discovered the cameras, as the ‘James Bond 007’. The PTI leader claimed that everything was pre-planned by the Opposition.
Meanwhile, Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry shared a picture of a ‘spy cam’ on his Twitter handle in response to Senator Khokar’s tweet.
However, the move backfired as the PPP senator also found a camera fitted inside a screw for which he thanked Fawad.
Where did these cameras come from?
But where did these cameras come from? The opposition has blamed the incumbent Senate Chairman, Sanjrani. Senator Khokhar said that the Senate chief left the upper house at 5:30 am in the morning, hinting at his involvement in the entire episode. However, since Sanjrani, along with Senate Secretary and Deputy Chairman, is in charge of the security of the house, fingers are being pointed at him.
“Credible sources in senate staff disclosing that Sadiq Sanjarani left the senate building 530 in the morning!” alleged Khokhar in a tweet.
The opposition said that it will hold discussion on whether to involve the police in the issue or call for a parliamentary probe into the spy cameras episode.
