Opposition contradicts in words and deeds: Leader of House

ISLAMABAD:Leader of the House in the Senate of Pakistan Senator Shahzad Waseem on Thursday said that the opposition is contradicting its own stance opted in 2016 against horse trading in the meeting of whole committee of the upper house.

He said that in 2015, Mian Raza Rabbani was the Chairman Senate, Raja Zafarul Haq was the Leader of the House and Aitzaz Ahsan was the Leader of the Opposition and the issue of horse trading was debated in the Upper House on August 7, 2015.

On August 10, 2015, the Leader of the House moved a motion to refer the matter to the Senate Committee on Whole.

The Committee of Whole met on 11 November 2015 and 12 May 2016. On May 20, 2016, the Committee of Whole presented its proposals. These were unanimous proposals and no one opposed these proposals. The Committee of Whole suggested that transparency in the Senate elections is not possible without electoral reforms.

Committee also suggested that the names of the voters should be published on the ballot paper and the vote should be identified.

Addressing a press conference along with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Shahbaz Gill, Senator Shehzad said the market is set up every time in the Senate elections.

He said that Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto had signed an agreement in the Charter of Democracy to ensure transparency in the Senate elections but the promise was not fulfilled.

"Their statements are on record in which they supported the transparency of open ballot" he said, adding that PML-N and PPP passed 18th amendment but no action was taken on the issue.

Despite all the promises, long rule and majority, the opposition did nothing to ensure transparency in the Senate elections because their intentions were wrong, he said.

Senator Shahzad said that in the Supreme Court, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chairman of the Senate, the Speakers of the Assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have supported the open ballot.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf expelled its 20 MPAs from the party on allegation of minting money from Senate elections.

Earlier Shahzad Waseem expressed his grief over the sad demise of Senator Mushahid Ullah Khan.