Azam Swati tells Fazlur Rehman to rethink siding with PDM after 'his candidate was rejected' in Senate

Azam Swati anf Sadiq Sanjrani
Minister for Railways Azam Swati on Sunday said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) "rejected" Maulana Fazlur Rehman's candidate in the Senate election and he should now rethink siding with the opposition alliance.

The minister was addressing a press conference alongside Sadiq Sanjrani who was reelected as Senate chairman in a blow to the opposition alliance who had jointly fielded Yousaf Raza Gillani and had expected victory with their majority of 51 seats in the upper house of parliament.

The government swept away the entire election, also clinching the post of deputy chairman with Mirza Mohammad Afridi defeating the opposition's Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri.

Swati's remarks referred to the defeat of Haideri, who is a member of the Fazlur Rehman-led JUI-F party, and who obtained 44 votes versus Afridi's 54.

"PDM rejected [Fazlur Rehman's] candidate. Their is no room for him [in the alliance] now," the minister said.

"He should wisen up and think again if he wants to continue [siding with them]," Swati added.

Swati said that the way "cracks are emerging in PDM means that the parties have always served their own interests".

"Their narrative has been defeated and they must repent now and allow us to complete Imran Khan's reform agenda for the next two and a half years — and then we will again emerge victorious in 2023," he said.

'They can continue to hit their heads'

Speaking of the opposition's decision to challenge the Senate election results, he said that no matter what the opposition does, the "Constitution protects us".

"This is not an election held by the Election Commission. This is an upper house election. The Election Act has no bearing on this," he said, adding that there are two Sections of the Constitution that "guarantee us full protection".

"[The opposition] can continue to hit their heads [but will not succeed in having their way]," Swati said.

Electoral reforms

On electoral reforms and whether the government will invite the opposition for consultation, the minister said: "If the opposition is sensible, if they wish to serve democracy, they must know that reforms can only be brought with the law and Constitution."

He said the government simply seeks to make the Senate election process "so transparent that everyone should know who voted for whom".

"The only way to defeat this practice of votes buying is by implementing what Imran Khan is saying," Swati said.

He also called for the 39 amendments in the Election Act that he has filed to be passed by the parliament.

Swati said that Sanjrani has "played a positive role" as Senate chairman the last three years and he is confident after his reelection that he will continue to play an effective role in the three years ahead.



from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3lgYPeT

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Low payments by fed govt hampered development in Sindh, CM Murad tells Bilawal Bhutto

Image
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had a meeting on Monday at the Bilawal House in Karachi. According to the Bilawal House spokesperson, the chief minister informed Bilawal Bhutto of the COVID-19 situation in the province along with measures taken by the Sindh Health Department to contain the virus. Speaking about the pace of development in the province, CM Murad Ali Shah told Bilawal Bhutto that progress has been largely hampered because of low payments made by the Federal government against Sindh's rightful share. Shedding light on areas where improvements were witnessed, the CM said that the Sindh government has surpassed its own tax collection targets this time. During the meeting, PPP Chairman said that he had instructed the Sindh government to start a recruitment drive for filling vacant positions, adding that all appointments must be made on the basis of merit so that the unemployed youth can benefit from the move. He also...
Read more

Six more die in rain-related incidents in Karachi

Image
At least six people lost their lives in rain-related incidents on Friday as heavy rainfall wreaked havoc in Karachi, bringing up the toll in three days to 14. Following a rain forecast, different areas of the port city continued to receive moderate to heavy showers under the influence of a monsoon system that is present over Karachi. The most rain was recorded in the Gulshan-e-Hadeed neighbourhood, which received 94.7mm of rain during two spells. The Shah Latif police said Ruqayya Mubeen Shah, 38, was working at home in Bhains Colony when she got an electric shock and died, adding that her body was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. Similarly, Sawera Ghulam Mustafa was at home in Baldia Town’s Mawach Goth when she got electrocuted, according to the local police, who said her body was taken to the Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK). In Manghopir, Raqeebullah Sardar Khan, 23, got an electric shock from a wire at home, said the police, adding that his body w...
Read more

Four soldiers martyred in gun battle with terrorists in North Waziristan: ISPR

Image
Four soldiers were martyred in North Waziristan's Hassan Khel area during an exchange of fire with terrorists who attempted to infiltrate into Pakistan from Afghanistan in the night between March 23 and March 24, the military's media affairs wing said on Thursday. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a group of terrorists tried to infiltrate into Pakistan at midnight, but their attempt was foiled due to the "alertness and timely response of army troops". The terrorists, however, retaliated by opening fire, the statement said, adding that the soldiers "reciprocated in a befitting manner". "The terrorists, having failed, fled ... and as per intelligence reports, suffered heavy casualties," the statement read, adding that four soldiers embraced martyrdom after fighting "gallantly" during the gun battle. The martyred soldiers have been identified as 34-year-old Lance Havaldar Wajahat Alam, who w...
Read more

Joint Opposition to move no-confidence motion against NA Speaker Asad Qaiser

Image
The Opposition has decided to jointly move a no-confidence motion against National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, sources said Wednesday, after two days of ruckus in the Lower House. The development came during a meeting of Opposition party leaders in Islamabad, where they decided to form a committee that would draft a plan of action to move the no-confidence motion. Yesterday's proceedings in the NA marked the "darkest day for democracy in Pakistan's history," the Opposition leaders observed, according to the sources. "The Speaker has failed to fulfil his constitutional, legal, democratic, and parliamentary responsibilities [...] he is the protector of every parliament member, but [he has failed in his duties] and is not qualified to hold office anymore," they said. The leaders demanded that a parliamentary committee be established with equal representation — from treasury and Opposition benches — to probe the ruckus that had transpired in parliament. ...
Read more

Former PM's close aide Shahzad Akbar's name placed on ECL

Image
The federal cabinet amended the Exit Control List (ECL) on Tuesday on the recommendation of the Interior Ministry, removing 22 names from the no-fly list and adding 10 people to it, while giving a one-time permission to three people to leave the country. Those added to the ECL included Shahzad Akbar, who served as adviser on interior and accountability to former prime minister Imran Khan, and Ziaul Mustafa Naseem. Both names were included in the ECL based on cases pertaining to a private housing scheme. The cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, received a briefing from the Climate Change Ministry on the effects of climate change in the country. The ministers were informed that Pakistan was among the top-eight worst affected countries because of the climate change. It was underlined in the briefing that there was a dire need for immediate implementation of ‘Mitigation and Adaptation” mechanism. It was suggested that a documentary about the issues confronting Pa...
Read more

CPEC extend to Afghanistan says China

Image
Beijing welcomes Afghanistan’s active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure plan proposed by China, and is willing to push for extending the China-Pakistan Economic Corri­dor (CPEC) to Afghanistan, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday as he made a surprise visit to Kabul. Wang met acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to discuss political and economic ties, including starting work in the mining sector and Afghanistan’s possible role in China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, according to a statement from an Afghan foreign ministry spokesman. Read more:  Ukraine pleads for help as Joe Biden heads to summit China was willing to promote the extension of CPEC to Afghanistan, making the latter a bridge for regional connectivity, Wang said on Thursday . He also said China hoped Afghanistan would fulfil its commitment of not allowing any external forces to use its territory as a tool to oppose neighbours, or harm the ...
Read more

Saudi princess freed after three years in jail

Image
Saudi authorities have released a princess and her daughter who had been held without charge for nearly three years in the capital, a human rights group said on Saturday. Basma bint Saud, 57, a royal family member long seen as a proponent of women’s rights and a constitutional monarchy, has been detained since March 2019, and in April 2020 implored King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to release her on health grounds. “Basma bint Saud Al Saud and her daughter Suhoud... have been released,” the ALQST for Human Rights said on Twitter. “She was denied the medical care she needed for a potentially life threatening condition,” the rights group added. “At no point during her detention has any charge been levelled against her.” Saudi officials were not immediately available to comment on the case. Princess Basmah was arrested shortly before a planned trip to Switzerland for medical treatment, according to a source close to the family. The nature of her illness has never bee...
Read more

New on Sports Illustrated: Forde-Yard Dash: The SEC is Unrecognizable as Defenses Underwhelm

Image
The SEC is known for its historically dominant defenses but teams' performances thus far have been anything but. Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football (autographed pictures of bird-flipping Texas fans sold separately):  MORE DASH: Texas Flop |  Looking at New Coaches   | Signs of Effective Teams FIRST QUARTER: THE SEC IS UNRECOGNIZABLE Last week, The Dash touched upon the early-season transformation of the Southeastern Conference into a free-wheeling passing league . But things escalated significantly Saturday, to the point that a historically dominant defensive conference now looks like what it once disdained—2010s Era Big 12, but with bigger bodies. Simply put, it was the highest-scoring Saturday in the history of the conference. Updating last week’s stat, four of the top five passing offenses in the nation are in the SEC: No. 1 Mississippi State, No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Mississippi and No. 5 Florida. The SEC now has none of the t...
Read more

Pakistan rejects illegal grant of IOK domicile certificates to Indians

Image
Pakistan has categorically rejected the grant of domicile certificates of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOK) by the Indian authorities to reportedly 25,000 Indian nationals. In a statement, Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said that the certificates issued to non-Kashmiris including, among others, the Indian government officials under “Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure), 2020” are illegal, void and in complete violation of the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, and International law including the 4th Geneva Convention. She said that the latest action is a vindication of Pakistan’s consistent stance that the major intention behind the Indian government’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 was to change the demographic structure of IOK and turn Kashmiris into a minority in their own land. The spokesperson said that this has long been part of the RSS-BJP’s “Hindutva” agenda. By changing the demographic structure ...
Read more

Lahore Qalandars beat Peshawar Zalmi by 4 wickets in PSL 6

Image
Lahore Qalandars defeated Peshawar Zalmi by four wickets in their first match of this year's Pakistan Super League (PSL) tournament at the National Stadium in Karachi on Sunday. Helped by Mohammad Hafeez and Rashid Khan's splendid knocks, Qalandars successfully chased the 141-run target set by Zalmi with nine balls to spare. The Qalandars started off strong after Fakhar Zaman and Sohail Akhtar opened their innings, before Akhtar (14 off 14) was caught by Shoaib Malik off Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the fifth over. Zaman followed him in the next over, getting caught superbly by Malik off Wahab Riaz after making 15 from as many balls. Agha Salman (21 off 16) then hit three boundaries and a few singles before he was bowled out by Amad Butt. He was replaced by Ben Dunk, who contributed 22 runs before falling victim to a Wahab Riaz yorker. Earlier, after being sent in to bat, Zalmi finished with a score of 140 at the loss of six wickets. Imamul Haq and Kamran Akmal opened the innin...
Read more