Senate opposition leader should be from PTI: Fawad Chaudhry

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry said on Saturday that it is PTI’s right to occupy the seat of the opposition leader in the Senate.

He said this while addressing reporters in Islamabad in the presence of other party leaders.

Commenting on the preparations being made for the upcoming general elections, Chaudhry said that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had contacted his party’s leadership to decide the name of the caretaker prime minister. “Sheikh Rasheed is a strong candidate for the slot of caretaker PM,” he said.

“We would be fully involved in the decision-making process, where the names of the caretaker chief ministers (CM) for Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would also be finalised,” Chaudhry further elaborated.

In reference to PPP Senator Sherry Rehman’s decision to file nomination papers for Senate opposition leader slot, the PTI leader said that the letter written by Rehman to the Senate chairman was “Calibri part two” in the making.

Criticising Punjab CM Shehbaz Sharif, Chaudhry said that the state of education and healthcare in Punjab was in shambles even after Shehbaz spent Rs 900 billion in the province.

He lashed out at the Punjab government for spending billions of rupees on media advertisements and said, “All development in Punjab only takes place in newspaper ads and stories.” He also said that the public could have enjoyed all the basic amenities of life had the Punjab CM spent the money on public welfare.

Furthermore, the PTI leader lashed out at the Punjab government for spending millions of rupees on new police uniforms and then reverting to the old uniforms after wasting public money. He also condemned CM Shehbaz’s ‘sasti roti’ scheme, saying that around Rs 40 billion was wasted on the pointless move.

While making allegations against Shehbaz Sharif for promoting rampant corruption in Punjab, Chaudhry said that Ahad Cheema’s arrest in the Ashiyana Housing Scheme scandal had only uncovered the tip of the iceberg.

“Millions of rupees have been wasted on Danish schools, Yellow Cab service, and the laptop scheme. These important cases should be investigated thoroughly by the authorities concerned,” he added.

Moreover, the PTI leader said, “All corruption cases against former premier Nawaz Sharif would end soon as the Sharifs have already admitted to owning offshore companies and properties.”

“NAB doesn’t need to prove anything now,” he said, adding that the anti-graft body should frame Nawaz on the basis of available evidence.