PM Imran Khan will seek vote of confidence from parliament: FM Qureshi

• Shah Mahmood Qureshi says PM Imran Khan will seek a vote of confidence from the parliament.
• Says the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) regrettably failed to ensure transparency in the Senate polls.
• "Those who claimed to be the champions of democracy have trampled upon it," he says.

ISLAMABAD: Foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday said that PM Imran Khan will seek a vote of confidence from the parliament following the results of the Senate polls.

He was addressing a press conference in Islamabad along with other PTI leaders, including the Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi, Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood, and Minister for Information and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, among others.

Speaking to journalists, FM Qureshi said that PM Imran Khan, in consultation with other PTI members, has decided to seek a vote of confidence from the parliament.

Read more: PPP's Ali Haider Gilani, Nasir Shah accused of buying Senate votes after 'leaked' audio clip

"Today was a sad day for democracy," the foreign minister said after PTI candidate Abdul Hafeez Sheikh lost the Senate's general seat from Islamabad to PPP candidate Yousaf Raza Gillani.

He said that after a video of Yousaf Raza Gillani's son Haider Ali Gillani surfaced last night, his true self was exposed. 

"I regret to say that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) failed to ensure transparency in the Senate polls," he said, adding that after the controversial video and audio (featuring Ali Haider Gillani) surfaced a night before the election, Fawad Chaudhry tried to approach the ECP but there was no one there.

"The ECP was entrusted with a huge responsibility, but it [failed to deliver]."

Taking a jibe at the PPP, FM Qureshi said that "those who claimed to be the champions of democracy have trampled upon it," adding that [corrupt] Opposition leaders have come together [under the Pakistan Democratic Movement banner] to practice "the politics of escapism."

"We will ensure that this politics of escapism is buried forever," he said.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi went on to say that Prime Minister Imran Khan always patiently listens to members of the party, adding that "if someone was upset, they should have openly walked away from the party."

"We will continue to fight the battle of good and evil," he said. "PM Imran Khan always took a high moral ground when it comes to politics and people are well aware of that."

Read more: Gilani vs Shaikh: PDM scores major victory over PTI in key Senate battle