PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Thursday suggested that members of the Upper House should be directly elected by the masses to ensure transparency and stop horse-trading.
Talking to media at the CM House in the provincial capital, the PTI chief said there was an urgent need to change the process of Senate elections. He said that his party would win the upcoming general elections and change the procedure of Senate polls first of all. “PTI will hold direct elections of Senate to ensure absolute transparency … we will change the system that allows horse-trading,” he said, and added, “Those senators who give money to be elected will only do corruption.”
The PTI chief said the parties with merely two to three candidates also take part in the Senate polls, regretting that no one ever tried to fix the system. “Even I was made an offer for Senate elections … everybody knows it involves money.”
Noting that senators are directly elected in the United States, he lamented that in Pakistan, corruption is promoted through the present system of Senate polls. He said the PTI had suggested holding of Senate elections directly but it was turned down. “Those having interests would have opposed direct elections for the Senate,” he said. “How will people put their confidence in the political leaders if the top leadership makes it to the helm of affairs after horse-trading,” he asked.
Commenting on differences within the party, the PTI chief said differences do emerge within political parties and that every single party in Pakistan has experienced it. He, however, said that their basic objective was to change the obsolete system.
Imran said that despite a heavy budget, Punjab government couldn’t do what KP has done with meagre funding. “Schools, hospitals, police force have been completely reformed in KP and it’s visible,” he said. “Chief Minister of Punjab Shehbaz Sharif has been involved in corruption worth Rs 9,000 billion for the past nine years,” he claimed.
The PTI chief said the Afghan president extending Taliban the offer to hold dialogue has vindicated his stance of holding the talks to end the war. “They called me Taliban Khan when I called for peaceful dialogue with the Taliban,” Imran said. “We were criticised by everyone and even called pro-Taliban.” Now, he added, after years of confrontation and bloodshed, they have reached the point where they want to hold talks and drop arms.
Published in Daily Times, March 2nd 2018.
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