ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday alleged that his party supported Sadiq Sanjrani in 2018 after he assured him of joining Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) after getting elected as chairman Senate.

Bilawal said that an old video of Sadiq Sanjrani is circulating on social media, adding “no one knows why we voted for Sanjrani as Senate chairman. At that time, some of our colleagues from Punjab thought that we cannot be partner in politics with the PML-N”.

He continued that Sanjrani, then an independent senator, came to his residence back in 2018 and sought his support for his election as chairman Senate.

“Sanjrani told me that he would join PPP after being elected chairman Senate. He [Sanjrani] was ready to take oath in front of me to join PPP,” said Bilawal while speaking at a dinner hosted by Senator Islamuddin Sheikh at his residence in Islamabad.

He said that he forbade Sanjrani from taking oath, as he trusted him and that was the reason he supported him in 2018 elections for in chairman Senate, but the “gentleman form Balochistan did not keep his promise”.

He continued that government spokespersons are constantly trying to drag institutions into politics by declaring Sanjrani as if he is the candidate of state institutions which si not good for the teething democracy of the country.

The PPP chairman said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an anti-government alliance of 11 political parties, would oppose the “puppet government” in the Senate today.

He said that it has been decided that – no matter what – both chairman and deputy chairman should not be from ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as “there lies the interest of people as well as country”.

Bilawal said the right thing – at a time when the country is engulfed in crises due to flawed policies of the rulers – the politicians of the country should be allowed politicians to play their positive role to steer the country out of the prevailing crisis.

Raja Pervez Ashraf, Farhatullah Babar, Naveed Qamar, Faisal Karim Kundi, Abdul Qadir Patel, Saad Rafique, Latif Khosa, Amjad Afridi, Noman Sheikh and Arsalan Sheikh and Faryal Talpur also attended the dinner.

Gilani and Abdul Ghafoor Haideri who have been nominated for the chairman and deputy chairman Senate slots by PDM also attended the dinner.—NAVEED BUTT