Opp calls Senate session tomorrow to grill PML-N govt

Government to face tough time at the hands of ‘heavily loaded’ opposition parties

ISLAMABAD: The opposition parties want to continue building pressure on the beleaguered Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government to not give it any breathing space as political activities in the country are set to gain momentum in the coming days.

After delay in calling the parliament’s session by the government, the Senate has been called to meet from Thursday on requisition of opposition parties with heavily loaded agenda to grill the government on a host of contentious issues.

Opposition parties, in their requisition request, enlisted a number of issues for discussion, including an alleged attempt on behalf of the ruling PML-N government to influence and manipulate the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed by the apex court to further probe the Panama Leaks case, involving the premier and his family on the top of their list.

Moreover, opposition parties are also apprehensive over not making public the Dawn Leaks inquiry report and alleged bugging of official meetings by the media cell, headed by the prime minister’s daughter Mariam Nawaz Sharif.



Dominating in terms of numbers with many firebrand senators at their disposal, opposition parties will castigate the ruling party on such contentious issues that would naturally get much media attention at a time when the government is trying to escape the Panama Leaks heat.

Regular sessions of the National Assembly and the Senate were tentatively due from May 8. However, the government did not call these sessions, saying it was working on a number of legislations, including Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) reforms and electoral reforms for which it needs to muster support of all the parties before presenting these packages for approval in parliament.

The opposition parties used provision of Article 54(3) read with Article 61 of the Constitution, which allows the Senate chairman or National Assembly speaker to call sessions of their respective houses if a minimum of 25 per cent of the total members of that house send them a written request.

Combined strength of opposition parties in the Senate is more than combined numbers on the treasury benches. Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, who belongs to the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, on May 5, received a request to call a session.



Agenda items mentioned in opposition parties requisition request include: rise in incidents of terrorism in the wake of the tragic incident of lynching of Mashal Khan, a student of the Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan on blasphemy accusations, tendency of the family of the prime minister to use the influence of their constitutional office to advance their transnational business interests, firing of Federal Information Minister Senator Pervaiz Rashid on the convoluted pretext and perverse allegation that he failed to block a news item and non-publication of the report of Dawn Leaks inquiry committee.

It also includes bugging of official meetings by the media cell headed by the premier’s daughter, government’s attempt to influence and manipulate the constitution of JIT in the Panamagate case and the impact thereof, interference of Sindh governor in political matters in clear violation of the Constitution, misrepresentation of federal minister of state for water and power in the Senate, regarding the supply of irrigation water to the provinces, physical blocking of leaders of a political party from holding a presser in the Press Information Department, dropping of discussion on implementation of Article 158 from the delayed meeting of Council of Common Interests (CCI) on May 2 and non-participation of the prime minister in discussion of 12 out of the 13 agenda items of the delayed CCI meeting of May 2, 2017.

The Senate’s Business Advisory Committee, a panel of senior parliamentarians of all the parties represented in the house, would meet before the start of the new session and decide its duration and prioritise items from the big list of proposed agenda topics submitted by the opposition parties.