RAWALPINDI: Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid on Thursday said the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) should respect the Charter of Democracy in relation to holding of the senate elections through an open ballot.

Talking to the media after addressing an event organised by Government Viqar-un-Nisa Post Graduate College for Women, Rawalpindi in connection with the Kashmir Solidarity Day, Rashid said both the PPP and PML-N had signed the Charter of Democracy in May 2006, but unfortunately they deviated from their stance.

He hoped that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) will only limit their movement to vote of no confidence, and will not go beyond long march.

The senate election which will be held in second or third week of March will further strengthen democracy in the country, he said.

The minister said he wanted the PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to himself take part in the senate election either from Balochistan or Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in order to strengthen democracy. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan desired to hold senate election through open ballot to stop the buying and selling of votes in the senate elections. To a question, he said the second name of dialogue is democracy. To another question about his contact with the PPP, he said he had no contact with the PPP. He said opposition parties needed to review their decision about resignations from assemblies as resignations from assemblies would make no difference but it would create political uncertainty. Ahmed, earlier, addressing the function said we have set up schools and colleges in the slum areas of Rawalpindi. He said that after establishing this university, children of people residing in the areas near will get an education. This year this university will be set up in one year, he said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021