Zardari's meeting with Balochistan CM marks start of Senate horse-trading: PML-N
Federal Railways Minister Saad Rafique claims PPP plans to 'buy' votes to ensure its control on Upper House of Parliament
January 26, 2018
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) supremo Asif Ali Zardari’s recent meeting with Balochistan’s "puppet" chief minister is the beginning of "shameful horse-trading" for the upcoming Senate elections, said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Khawaja Saad Rafique on Friday.
In a series of tweets, Rafique, the federal railways minister and senior party leader, said "the recent change in Balochistan is business in guise of democracy. Zardari harmed democracy just to garner more seats in [the upcoming] Senate elections".
He was referring to the recent 'in-house' removal of PML-N's Balochistan chief minister Sanaullah Zehri with PML-Quaid's Abdul Quddus Bizenjo.
On Thursday night, Zardari chaired a meeting at the Sindh CM House as Bizenjo and his cabinet members called on Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
Continuing his tirade against the 'conspiracy', Rafique claimed that Zardari has turned [party founder] Bhutto’s PPP into a "business".
He alleged that the PPP chief wants to make his sister the Senate chairman to maintain their hold on affairs.
Rafique added that Zardari's "attempting to buy every party’s members to ensure he has control over the Senate", the elections for which are due early March.
He vowed that the PML-N and other democratic forces will foil any such moves, and cautioned the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf saying the party's members are also on "Zardari's target list".
"His corrupt thinking has blown to smithereens the Charter of Democracy," said Rafique, referring to the PPP-PML-N agreement of 2006.
"You can abuse, accuse of conspire but we will not let you conduct horse-trading," vowed Rafique.
The PML-N leader said Zardari tried similar tactics in the last Senate elections but couldn’t succeed as per his wishes. "Had Bilawal not been present Zardari would have sold the remaining PPP as well," Rafique conjectured.
At the meeting at Sindh CM's house, Zaradri had said the change in the Balochistan government through a democratic process is the manifestation of political maturity of the people of Balochistan and their elected representatives.
