LAHORE: Amid allegations of horse-trading and vote sell in the recent Senate elections, chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Siraj-ul-Haq made a surprising revelation, claiming that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf received orders ‘from the top’ to vote for Sadiq Sanjrani for the post of Senate chairman.
Talking to mediamen in Mansoora on Friday in Lahore, Haq called for action against lawmakers involved in buying and selling votes in the Senate polls.
The KP chief minister told us that a Balochistan candidate has to be voted in for the post of Senate chairman. “I enquired the name of the candidate, but Mr. Pervez Khattak feigned ignorance and said he would convey the name once he is told about it. The name has been recommended from the top”.
WATCH: Here’s what Sirajul Haq said
Despite the victory of PTI-backed candidate, pro-Zardari slogans were chanted after the election of Senate chairman, said the JI emir.
Reacting to JI chief’s statement, KP government spokesman Shaukat Yousufzai said: “Sirajul Haq should not play innocent now. His party enjoyed power for five years and now he is trying to turn his back on everything.”
On March 12, Sadiq Sanjrani was elected Senate chairman. Sanjrani secured 57 votes, while PML-N backed Raja Zafarul Haq secured 46 out of the total 103 votes cast for the seat of the Senate chairman.
Sanjrani, an independent senator, was backed by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).
Senate chairman is the custodian of the upper house and remains politically impartial at the time of discharging his duties. The chairman represents both the opposition and treasury benches. In absence of the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Senate chairman acts as the President.
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