PM Abbasi condemns horse trading ahead of Senate polls

Lahore : Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Saturday called for ‘jihad’ against political horse-trading and categorically declared to resist and shame those who would get Senate membership using their fortune.

“Senate election is due after a month. I question as how a party or individual with no MPA in a provincial assembly, can become Senator. There is only one method of plundering and venality which we have to reject. This can never be in country’s interest. We have to launch jihad against it,” the prime minister said addressing a public gathering after launching work on gas supply project to Isakhel Tehsil and surrounding areas.

The prime minister who earlier launched the project by unveiling the plaque and welding a gas pipeline, was accompanied by parliamentarians from the area including Obaidullah Shahdi Khel and Mumtaz Tamman, provincial minister Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, and party leaders including Hanif Abbasi, Anjum Aqeel and Siddiqul Farooq.

The prime minister said that they would personally resist and shame those who would get Senate membership by buying the votes. “(We) will shame them. (We) will present them before the public court” he said believing that the one winning Senate membership by using the riches could neither represent the people nor could serve the Senate.

Therefore, the people have to face such politics through its reaction which could be improved only though public pressure, the prime minister said and also sought public endorsement asking the gathering to raise their hands in support, he said adding that those involved in horse trading would be exposed and the PML-N would face them.

The project would cost Rs 2.30 billion involving government’s direct funding of Rs 1.2 billion and Rs 1.06 billion indirect funding.

It would benefit the population of 180,000 people and comprise transmission line of 58 kilometers stretch and distribution network of around 406 kilometers.

The prime minister, who wore a traditional white turban of Mianwali, said it was the biggest ever gas project of Punjab province and vowed to expand the facility across the whole NA-71 constituency.

He said as the PML-N government inherited the ban on new gas connections owing to gas shortage but now all the consumers were getting uninterrupted gas supply and long queues at CNG stations had also ended.