ISLAMABAD – In a move to substantiate its horse-trading allegations against government and state institutions in upcoming Senate chairman election, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Thursday brought its senator, who claims to have received calls to support PTI’s candidate Sadiq Sanjrani, on media.
Senator Hafiz Abdul Karim while talking to media, flanked by former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbas, Marriyum Aurangzeb and Ahsan Iqbal, said that he received multiple telephone calls from officials of key state institutions to cast vote for Sanjrani in the election to be held through secret ballot tomorrow (Friday).
“I received first call on March 6 but I could not attend it. Later calls were made on March 7 and March 9. I attended the last call when I was told to support government candidate,” Karim revealed.
The PML-N senator said that he had been nominated in a four-year-old case to pressurize him, adding that he will continue to support Nawaz Sharif.
Earlier in the day, PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz said that her party senators were being contacted through calls in order to bar them from giving vote to PDM’s joint candidates for the slot Senate chairman and deputy chairman.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that their senators are being pressurized to vote for Sanjrani. He threatened to expose all if their voters were trapped.
The ruling PTI has nominated incumbent Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, an independent Senator from Balochistan, as candidate for chairmanship while Mirza Muhammad Afridi, a senator from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has been nominated for deputy chairman slot.
On the other hand, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance of 10-Oppositon parties, has nominated Yousaf Raza Gillani and Abdul Ghafoor Haider as candidates for slots of chairman and deputy chairman respectively.
A tough contest is expected between Sanjrani and Gillan, who served a major blow to the PTI after defeating its candidate Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in Senate elections.
