Senate elections: PTI not to vote for Rabbani

Imran says politics of give and take being played

ISLAMABAD: Despite endorsing Raza Rabbani’s credentials as a seasoned politician, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has refused to vote for the Pakistan Peoples Party candidate for the Senate chairman slot.

A consensus over the nomination for Senate’s top slot has been reached between the government and the Opposition after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave his nod, claiming the ruling party wanted all parties to work together.

However, PTI Chairman Imran Khan while addressing a press conference announced his party would not vote for any candidates put up by the two mainstream parties for the positions of Senate chairman and deputy chairman.

“We have decided not to vote for any [candidates] of these parties,” he said. “Rabbani is a reputed politician but I hope that he would not be a part of the politics being played of give and take.”

Khan said parliament could only perform when there was an active opposition. In order to substantiate his argument, he referred to the infamous Swiss cases against Zardari, alleging the ruling PML-N had helped the PPP leader as there was no case against him now.

“It is strange that leaders of the two political parties [PML-N and PPP] have their businesses and assets abroad but they are asking others to invest in Pakistan,” he said. “This is the politics of give and take.”

Talking about the Senate elections, he said change had come to the Senate elections from K-P (where the PTI is in power). “Horse-trading has been a part of Senate elections but the PTI has changed it now,” he claimed.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2015.