Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday expressed confidence that upcoming Senate election would win the government majority in parliament for smooth legislation.
“Insha Allah, we are hopeful…All legislation is stuck up there (in Senate). We faced utmost difficulty during the last two years. Every law used to stuck up in Senate as we didn’t have majority,” the prime minister said in an interview to a private television channel.
He said that in a parliamentary democracy, reforms process could not take place without joint working of the government and the opposition.
He said though it was the government’s responsibility to bring reforms, but it did not have majority to enact necessary legislation.
To a question, the prime minister said the opposition’s criticism on open ballot could be a plan to deprive the government of majority in the Senate election.
He questioned as why the political parties which had agreed for open ballot in Senate election under Charter of Democracy, had now backtracked.
“They are just trying to pressurize the government… Their only effort is to get the relief in form of NRO,” he added.
The prime minister said what kind of message the parliamentarians would give who would sell or buy loyalties in the Senate election. “When the parliamentarians, at the helm of affairs, would bribe to buy or sell votes, how could they forbid an SHO or patwari for doing the same? The corruption is starting from them,” he added.
Commenting on recently surfaced video, he said what kind of the reputation the parliamentarians would have among the people who had seen this video. The prime minister said the government had formed a three-member probe committee and asked it to also refer the matter to Election Commission and even National Accountability Bureau, if required.
Moreover, the attorney general would also apprise the Supreme Court of the video as the apex court was hearing a reference seeking ruling for open ballot in Senate polls.
About the opposition’s viewpoint that the government started the process for open ballot late, he said he had been advocating it since his party had first formed the government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. At that time, he had also warned to dissolve KP Assembly if the members were found to have sold their votes.
