Senate 'horse-trading' scandal: Committee to call journalist who released video

• The committee also requests those to share information who might have firsthand knowledge of the incident.
• The committee has been constituted by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
  
• Committee will determine who allegedly bought the votes and who were the ones who benefitted from it

ISLAMABAD: The committee to investigate the alleged vote-buying in the 2018 Senate elections in its first meeting held on Saturday decided to invite the journalist who released the video on the media.

It also decided to request those who might have firsthand information or knowledge of the incident to share it with the committee either in writing or in-person.

The committee, constituted by Prime Minister Imran Khan, comprises of Federal Minister for Science and Technology Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari, and Advisor to PM on Accountability and Interior Shehzad Akbar.

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Taking notice of the undermining of democracy by vote purchasing especially in Senate elections, the committee decided to make the office of the minister of human rights as the secretariat of the committee and finalised the procedure to be followed.

As per the details in the press release, the committee would probe who were the beneficiaries of the purchased votes and who allegedly provided the money to purchase the votes of MPAs. 

It would then recommend actions to be taken on the matter.

20 PTI ministers dismissed after 2018 senate polls

Following the 2018 Senate elections, 20 PTI members were dismissed from the party after reports of them "selling their votes" surfaced.

Read more: Committee formed to probe PTI members' 'vote-buying' in 2018 Senate polls

Former PTI members Zahid Durrani and Obaid Mayar, who are visible in a video that leaked last week showing PTI MPAs allegedly receiving money for voting against the party, were among those to have been dismissed at the time.

KP Minister for Law Sultan Muhammad — who was part of the Qaumi Watan Party in 2017 but joined PTI prior to the 2018 general elections — was also asked to resign after he was seen in the video.

Durrani and Mayar have alleged that the money was distributed by the KP government in the presence of Minister for Defence Pervez Khattak and National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser.

Both men have denied the accusations and challenged those accusing them of bring forth evidence to support their claims.