PM confident PDM will face failure again

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement – formed to dethrone the incumbent government – had failed before and will fail again in the future as well, as the whole nation has seen that people were bought with money in the Senate elections.

A day before the upper house of parliament elections, PDM joint candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani’s son, Ali Haider Gilani, was seen in a video clip with two ruling PTI MPs telling them how to waste votes. However, the MPs later claimed that it was part of their “sting operation” to expose the opposition’s tactics to damage the government’s vote bank.

Similarly, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly member Abdus Salam Afridi approached the Election Commission of Pakistan, claiming that he had a video to prove that an opposition leader tried to buy his vote. The ECP has sought evidence from the lawmaker.

However, Gilani defeated PTI candidate Abdul Hafeez Shaikh to win the Islamabad seat in the Senate election on March 3.

Chairing a meeting of the government spokespersons to discuss the political situation in the country, Premier Imran said, “It is the responsibility of the Election Commission to conduct transparent elections, which has not been fulfilled.

“We want clean and transparent elections in the future.”

The meeting reviewed the powers of the Election Act and the Election Commission.

PM Imran vowed that he would “end the tradition of coming to power by investing money and making money after coming to power”.

“Electoral reforms are under way … [we] will close the door to corruption in all types of elections,” Imran told the spokespersons.

Separately, senators Faisal Javaid and Zeeshan Khanzada called on the prime minister.

During the meeting, the senators apprised the PM that incumbent Senate Chairman “Sadiq Sanjrani is our strongest candidate for the post of Senate chairman”.

They were optimistic that the government would succeed.

The elections for the chairman and deputy will be held on March 12, the day the three-year tenure of Sanjrani ends.

“Efforts are being made to hold the next Senate elections through open voting,” they informed Imran.

The PM also chaired a meeting on direct subsidy from the government for the purchase of food and other necessities to the deserving and poor members of the society.

The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Industries Minister Hammad Azhar, Adviser Dr Ishrat Hussain, special assistants Dr Waqar Masood and Dr Sania Nishtar, SBP Governor Dr Reza Baqir, secretaries of relevant ministries and other senior officials.

The meeting discussed issues related to expansion of the scope of shelters and implementation of the ‘No One Goes to Sleep Hungry’ programme.

The PM told the participants that the welfare of the poor and deserving people “is the first priority and the government is working to help the deserving people with the consultation and cooperation of all stakeholders at the individual and institutional level”.

He said that the government was fully aware of the burden on the poor due to the economic situation in the country. “All possible efforts are being made to reduce the burden of inflation on the people, as transparent and effective use of government subsidies is the first priority.”

The prime minister was given a detailed briefing on the proposed Ehsaas Food Stamp Programme.

Special Assistant for Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar briefed the PM on the features and modalities of the proposed programme.

Under this programme, Nishtar said, the government would provide direct subsidy to the deserving persons for the purchase of essential items.

She said, “Direct subsidies will provide direct, transparent and prompt government assistance to the beneficiaries.

“The purpose of this programme is to adopt the method of direct financing through the system of indirect subsidies.”

Statistics and preliminary estimates of families and individuals benefiting from the programme were presented to the PM.

Appreciating the proposed programme, Imran said, “It is our responsibility to bring relief to the poor. We are fully aware of our responsibility and will go to any lengths to fulfil it.”

He said that transparent and efficient use of government subsidy is the top priority of the present government.

The prime minister directed all concerned to finalise the procedures and statistics regarding the proposed system at the earliest so that the programme could be launched as soon as possible.