ISLAMABAD – The two sitting lawmakers of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday themselves admitted that they were in the leaked video showing the son of former PM Yousaf Raza Gilani, the joint opposition’s candidate for the polls, explaining them how to waste their vote in the Senate election.
The two MNAs were identified as Jamil Ahmed and Faheem Khan. While talking to reporters in the Parliament House soon after PM Imran Khan obtained a vote of vote of confidence in an important session of National Assembly, the lawmakers said that they would stand by the party to the last as they were ‘soldiers’ of PM Imran Khan.
A day before the March 3 Senate election, the video of Ali Haider Gilani had gone viral on social media in which he could be seen instructing some lawmakers on how to waste their vote in the polls. The ruling PTI had termed the video as pre-poll rigging and requested the Election Commission of Pakistan to take notice of it.
Former PM Gilani was the joint candidate of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on a general seat of Senate from Islamabad.
Following their meeting with the PM in his chamber, Ahmed said they stood by the party and Prime Minister Imran Khan to the last. “No one told us to do it,” he said when asked if they did it on someone’s instructions.
The lawmaker said they didn’t take any money.
Khan said they would appear to explain their position if ECP summoned them.
“You’ll soon get a statement from the party,” Khan said when asked whether it was a sting operation.
Earlier, Haider Gilani had admitted that he had advised PTI MNAs on how to have their Senate votes rejected.
He said there were more than two lawmakers present at the time who did not want to vote for the PM.
Meanwhile, PTI leaders on Saturday requested the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) not to issue notification of Yousaf Raza Gilani’s success in the Senate elections until announcement of decision on the petition about the video of his son, disclosing rigging in the elections.
While talking to reporters outside the ECP, Parliamentary Secretary for Railways Farrukh Habib, Parliamentary Secretary for Planning, Development and Reforms Kanwal Shauzab and Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Justice Ms Maleeka Bukhari said everyone knew the objective behind the meetings of Gilani’s son with PTI’s assembly members after release of a video in that regard.
Farrukh Habib said Ali Haider Gilani could be seen in the video telling the members as to how a vote in the Senate polls could be spoiled. He asked the Election Commission to fix the petition challenging Gilani’s election as a senator for early hearing. He also called for legal action against Maryam Nawaz for her statement that it was an offer of her party’s ticket which made the PTI members to vote for Gilani. It was the responsibility of ECP to stop corrupt practices in the electoral process, he added.
Maleeka Bukhari said big money was spent for horse-trading in the Senate elections. The ECP should not issue the notification of Yousuf Raza Gilani’s victory and should take legal action against his son.
The PTI leaders said the ECP being a constitutional body, should treat everyone as per law.
Also, the Election Commission of Pakistan will conduct hearing of the issue of leaked video of former Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani’s son Ali Gilani about Senate elections on Thursday.
The application to this effect was filed by Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf’s parliamentarians Kanwal Shauzab and Farrukh Habib. According to the ECP spokesperson, the Commission will also listen to the matter pointed out by the PPP leader Nayyar Bukhari in his application submitted with the ECP regarding the alleged corrupt practices during recently held Senate polls.
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