F.P. Report
MARDAN: Former Chief Minister and central senior vice-president of Awami National Party Ameer Haider Khan Hoti has demanded action against Defense Minister Pervaz Khan Khattak and National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser for their alleged involvement of horse trading and floor crossing in the senate elections held in 2018.
He was talking journalists here on Thursday after the inaugural ceremony of a local private hospital. He alleged and lamented that on one side Prime Minister Imran Khan was blaming opposition for horse trading and floor crossing on the other side, his own ministers and lawmakers were involved in such type cheap business while giving example of the recently leaked videos of horse trading.
Hoti pointed out that Imran Khan had claimed that he sacked his provincial law minister Sultan Khan over his alleged appearance in the leaked video of horse trading but he said that prime minister Imran Khan alreading knew about the leaked video and alleged involvement of the said minister in it.
He lamented that Imran Khan not only welcomed Sultan Khan in PTI from Qumi Watan Party but also gave party ticket to contest last general elections following his inclusion in the KPK cabinet. He went on to say that one of former lawmaker of PTI who was also allegedly involved in the said cheap business, had himself blamed that the incumbent defense minister Pervaz Khan Khattak and NA speaker Asad Qaiser had played key role in the horse trading in senate polls held in 2018.
He asked the federal minister Pervaz Khan Khattak and Speaker Asad Qaiser to tender their resignations and present themselves before judicial commission for the sake of transparency so that real facts and figure could be come before the nation. To a query about senate elections, he said that consultations were going on with other opposition parties Pakistan Democratic Movement so that to devise a joint strategy for contesting the next senate polls.
Meanwhile, Academic Staff Association (ASA), AWKUM, strongly condemns the teargas shelling and firing of rubber bullets on the employees and detaining the associations’ leaders, protesting for their salary increase.
A peaceful protest is the right of every citizen, granted by the constitution of Pakistan. Even if the employees turned violent, they could have been handled tactfully. In a press release issued by ASA-AWKUM, its president, Dr. Ayaz Ahmed, demanded that salaries of all government employees should be increased, the injured protesters compensated, the leaders freed and the government mis-handlers of the protest reprimanded.
