LAHORE: Federal Information Minister Shibli Faraz has categorically denied that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government has struck a ‘backdoor deal’ with former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, claiming that any such deal is “against the basic philosophy of the party”.

The minister was replying to questions of media persons at a Sundas Foundation event here on Saturday in the backdrop of grant of post-arrest bail to Mr Zardari on medical grounds in ‘suspicious money transactions’ case.

Mr Faraz said that the PPP was the only party in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) that had a government (in Sindh).

Chiding the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for what he called its “pressure tactics” to get a clean chit for its leadership in corruption cases, Mr Faraz said the PPP could not go hand-in-hand with the PML-N to help it out in achieving its ‘goals’.

“Each PDM party is looking after its own interests and there was nothing that could hold them together,” he said.

He said the PDM parties had been going off scot-free after committing “wrongdoings” in the past, but now they had been pitched against Prime Minister Imran Khan and getting any relief without returning the “looted public wealth” would be next to impossible.

Says all parties in PDM taking care of their own interests

About Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s claim that Imran Khan would no more be the prime minister when the Senate elections approached, Mr Faraz sarcastically said many a date given by the PPP chairman had passed and would continue passing “quietly” in future as well.

To a question whether the PML-Q had been able to “blackmail” Imran Khan as its leadership had suddenly started praising the prime minister, the minister said the PML-Q was an ally of the PTI government and knew all political matters well. “We believe that the government is moving ahead because the PTI’s allies are supporting it and agree with its working,” Mr Faraz said.

With regard to the PTI government’s eagerness to go for ‘open’ Senate voting, Mr Faraz said the whole nation should understand that the government was talking about transparency in the upper house polls and eradicating the ill of buying and selling of votes. “Do those opposing the PTI government’s endeavour to hold the Senate elections in a transparent manner want that the sale and purchase of parliamentarians continue like in the past,” he asked. He said the prime minister had already told the nation that the party had removed its 20 parliamentarians who had sold their conscience by taking bribe in 2018 Senate elections.

Recalling that the opposition parties had signed a Charter of Democracy (CoD) supporting the cause of open vote to eradicate sale and purchase of the parliamentarians, he said that he was perplexed why these parties were now opposing the method for the Senate elections. “What I can understand is that the opposition parties only believe in money to buy anyone. They did all their politics [that way] and bought the conscience of the people with heaps of money,” he alleged.

He said the PTI government had already brought a constitutional amendment bill to the National Assembly seeking open Senate vote and seen who opposed it. “Those opposing the open Senate vote have [only] exposed their [own] hypocritical politics,” he said and sought the media’s support in “exposing” those elements who were not agreeing to transparency that actually needed no discussion.

Answering a question, Mr Faraz said the PTI government’s senior leadership was in contact with the Tehreek-i-Labbaik with regard to its Feb 16 deadline (for severing diplomatic ties with France over blasphemous caricatures) and hoped that the matter would amicably be resolved soon.

Responding to a question about the state-of-affairs in the state-run PTV and Pakistan Radio, the information minister said the government was reorganising these entities to restore the dignity of these vibrant organisations and show results within six months or a year. “When a boat meant for 10 passengers will be burdened with 300 passengers, it is bound to sink,” he used the analogy to explain the situation of these organisations.

To another question about the passage of the Media Workers’ Welfare Bill in the Senate, Mr Faraz said the PTI government firmly believed in offering pay and other protections to the journalist community across the country through a powerful regulator. “We will soon get more numbers in the Senate and re-present the bill within the prescribed time period,” he assured the journalists.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2021