Opp doubles effort to scuttle 22nd Amendment

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  • Khan calls Zardari on Malik’s request, discusses horse-trading issue as Senate polls near
  • Zardari says PPP will release White Paper on election rigging soon

While Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman are sticking to their stances on the government-proposed 22nd Constitutional Amendment, the PPP leader also reached out to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday to convince him not to support the legislation.

Sources told Pakistan Today that former interior minister Rehman Malik met Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and while expressing the need to work together in KP, urged the PTI leader to connect the PTI chief with the PPP leader.

Following the meeting, Khattak conveyed Malik’s advise to Khan who then telephoned Zardari and exchanged views over the current political situation with special emphasis on the issue of horse-trading ahead of Senate polls, sources added.

Confirming the news, Omar Cheema, spokesperson for PTI chief Imran Khan, said the two leaders had agreed to curb horse-trading.

Reportedly, Rehman Malik and Khattak also exchanged views on the possibility of seat adjustment in Senate between PPP and PTI, so as to enable the two political parties to work together in the north-western province.

ZARDARI MEETS FAZL:

Moreover, Zardari and Fazl had lunch together during which the two discussed the political situation. Qayyum Soomro, Sherry Rehman, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Akram Durrani, Ataur Rehman and Lutfur Rehman also attended the meeting.

The two leaders said that it was highly unlikely that the proposed amendment would be passed before the Senate polls, which are hardly four days away. They said that PPP, JUI-F and ANP have identical reservations over the amendment as it was being articulated by “those who are out of the Parliament”. They hoped that Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao would also join their ranks.

“Nothing is absolute in politics. Those trying to enter the Prime Minister’s House are now keen to return to Parliament,” Zardari and Fazl said after the luncheon hosted by the JUI-F chief for the PPP co-chairperson at Ministers Colony in the federal capital.

Addressing reporters after the meeting, Zardari said that they accepted the results of the 2013 elections despite reservations and they would soon expose the rigging through a “white paper”.

Zardari also dismissed rumours about differences with his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, saying such rumours could be reasonable if he had three sons.

PM REMAINS DETERMINED:

On the other hand, in a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stated that the government is working on 22nd Amendment to halt horse-trading for Senate elections.

During the meeting, preparations regarding Senate elections were also taken under consideration.

1 COMMENT

  1. Has any senate candidate submitted highest level of security clearance along with his/her nomination? If not, why not ?

    Security Clearance is a requirement for every position in the state setup of any state. Senate and National Assembly are highest level of elected jobs. Why Pakistan allows people to contest for positions in these houses without obtaining security clearance before his/her nomination?

    Senate elections must be postponed and only persons having highest level security of clearance should be allowed to contest. There should not be any amendment needed for this to happen. Once you have security cleared persons contesting, the corruption will start fading away.

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