ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Monday said that the alliance will nominate former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani for chairman Senate after the conclusion of the upcoming Senate elections.

Talking to mediapersons after having a meeting with a delegation of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) comprising former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, Nayyar Bukhari, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, and Haider Gilani, the Maulana, who is also the chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) said that the alliance is hopeful of Gillani’s win.

He said that during the meeting, the PPP leaders and the JUI leaders discussed the upcoming Senate elections, adding that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was panicked by Gilani’s nomination for the Senate chairman’s post.

Fazl said that Gilani’s nomination has made matters “serious” for the government.

He noted that the government had nominated Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh from Islamabad, who has held the country’s economy “in his hands during every government’s tenure.”

The JUI-F chief further said that the masses want people who can pull the country out of crises in vital positions and not those who pushed the country into a mess.

“Gillani is our joint candidate for the upper house and our decision has panicked the government,” he said.

“He has served as the National Assembly speaker and the prime minister in the past,” Fazl said.

“He should be the Senate chairman.”

The PDM leader, who was hopeful of Gilani’s victory, said they were trying to convince parliamentarians to bring those into power who could save the country from the ongoing crisis.

Speaking on the occasion PPP leader Yousuf Raza Gilani thanked the PDM chief for his nomination as the joint candidate of the opposition alliance for the upcoming Senate elections from Islamabad.

Answering a question regarding the Establishment’s support for PM Imran Khan, he said he believed that the Establishment had become “totally neutral”.

Gilani also denied rumors that he had made any contact with the PTI former secretary general, Jahangir Khan Tareen, whether telephonic or otherwise. However, he said that Tareen was his relative.

The PPP leader expressed confidence that he will emerge victorious in the Senate polls, saying that response to his nomination had been “positive”.

He recalled his election for premiership, saying that he had amassed 264 votes, while his opponent received 42, following which the opposition agreed to cast a vote of confidence in Gilani’s favour.

“I got those votes on the basis of my personal relations,” he said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021