MARDAN: Awami National Party provincial president Ameer Haider Khan Hoti has said that no political party will get clear mandate in the upcoming general elections in the country.

He was talking to journalists during a lunch arranged by MPA Ahmad Khan Bahadar in the honour of newly elected office-bearers of Mardan Press Club here on Monday.

Mr Hoti said that keeping in view the political scenario of the country, it was expected that no political party would get clear mandate in the polls rather there would be weak governments in the centre and provinces.

He criticised horse trading in the recently held Senate elections. He said that the Senate polls were held twice when their party was in power before the general elections of 2013 but nobody levelled any charges of horse trading at that time.

Mr Hoti also criticised Prime Minister Shahid Khakan Abbasi for seeking a new chairman of Senate with consensus. “Why the prime minister did not take any action over horse trading during the Senate polls. We have to bring reforms in system of elections to stop horse trading,” he added.

He asked the Election Commission of Pakistan to take steps for holding fair and transparent polls under the supervision of an impartial interim government. “The ECP should also take measures for a secured atmosphere wherein leaders and workers of all political parties can freely carry out their election campaigns,” he added.

To a query regarding China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he alleged that government had made false claim about presence of western route in the project’s map. He said that there was no western route in CPEC that’s why Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was deprived of its benefits.

Mr Hoti said that provincial government was busy in sit-ins at the time of planning of CPEC. He alleged that provincial government failed to secure due share of the province in the mega project.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2018