KARACHI:
Pakistan Peoples Party parliamentarian Shazia Marri has claimed that activities in the National Assembly have been suspended on the flimsy pretext of disinfecting the premises but the actual motive is to remove all evidence of tampering during the in-house Senate election process.
The installation of spy cameras to monitor voters as they elected the chairperson and deputy chairperson of the upper house was a scandal bigger than Watergate, said the lawmaker, demanding a transparent probe.
The MNA made these remarks in a statement issued here on Sunday in reaction to the government’s decision to seal the Parliament House and disinfect the premises after 30 Covid-19 cases were reported among staffers in recent days.
Read: Oath-taking marred as opposition protests ‘spy cameras’ found in Senate
Marri said Prime Minister Imran Khan was trying to protect those who were involved in the installation of cameras in the Senate hall ahead of the chairperson and deputy chairperson elections.
Without clarifying who the premier was allegedly trying to protect, Marri added that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government could erase the footage recorded in CCTV cameras during the time the Senate premises are sealed.
On the other hand, in a statement issued on the day, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNA Nusrat Wahid said that the in-house elections were free and fair and the Pakistan Democratic Movement was now baffled over its defeat. She dismissed the opposition’s allegations as baseless and congratulated the newly elected chairperson and deputy chairperson - Sadiq Sanjrani and Mirza Muhammad Afridi, respectively.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 15th, 2021.
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