PPP MPA Nawab Muhammad Taimur Talpur on Thursday backtracked on his claims of holding knowledge about horse-trading in Senate elections, telling the Election Commission of Pakistan that his remarks last week were made in the heat of the moment.

In a fiery speech on the floor of the Sindh Assembly last Thursday, Talpur had claimed: "A member [of this house] who sold their vote to the PPP during the Senate election is still sitting in the assembly."

The ECP had subsequently issued a show-cause notice to the MPA and also summoned him so his claim could be probed.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sardar Muhammad Raza and member Balochistan Shakeel Baloch conducted the hearing today.

The CEC noted that accusations of horse-trading during Senate elections had been making the rounds for a long time. He further noted that a party (the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf) had even suspended the membership of its members on the suspicion of horse-trading, before telling Talpur that he had been summoned to provide evidence backing his claim.

At this, Talpur's counsel backtracked from his client's remarks, saying that the statements made on the floor of the house were presented in a bad light in the media.

He further said that two days of pointed exchanges in the Sindh Assembly had created an environment in which his client ended up delivering an "emotional speech".

Talpur's counsel tendered an apology on his client's behalf, admitting that a phrase of his client had created confusion.

A video clip of Talpur's speech was also played during the hearing.

The defense counsel reiterated that his client's statements were not taken personally by any member of the parliament.

"If a person receives Rs50 million [from another] in his kitchen, how is the ECP supposed to know about this?" the CEC remarked, adding that he had hoped Talpur would help them in this regard.

The CEC also asked Talpur if he had been rebuked into silence by his party.

During the hearing, PTI member Ziad Khaleeq Kiayani also petitioned the ECP to take action against Talpur for slandering national institutions.

The ECP directed Talpur's counsel to submit written responses to both the show-cause notice as well as the PTI member's petition.

However, the defense counsel requested the ECP to not club Kiyani's petition with the show-cause notice. At this, the chief election commissioner said: "Leave that to us."

The case's hearing was subsequently adjourned until October 18.