LAHORE: A day after Pakistan’s Senate demanded a delay in the elections, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb said that the polls will be held as per schedule, regardless of the instigators behind the resolution.
Speaking to the media after her appearance before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Saturday, the former information minister said that the PML-N was the sole party opposing the resolution.
Marriyum confidently stated, “Elections will take place on February 8, even if other parties protest or make noise.” She went on to claim that the resolution’s origin could be traced back to the PML-N’s rival, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Accusing the PTI of a well-thought-out strategy, Marriyum pointed out that the party had initially approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) and later introduced the resolution in the Senate.
“The PTI remains silent within the assembly and then creates a commotion outside. Unlike them, they do not resort to drama outside the body,” she remarked. In a veiled reference to Imran Khan, the founding chairman of PTI, she cautioned against issuing threats from jail.
“The Pakistani people will not vote for them. The people of Pakistan want elections. The PML-N’s schedule for public gatherings would be decided in the coming week,” she said.
The resolution, put forward by independent lawmaker Senator Dilawar Khan, was approved by the Senate in the presence of only 14 senators’ presence out of the 100 members of the house.
The PTI’s Senator Gurdeep Singh and PPP’s Behramand Tangi abstained from voting, leading to notices being issued to them by their respective parties for not pointing out the lack of quorum in the house.
