Dissidents a worry as govt seeks Senate nod to delimitation bill today

PML-N reaches out to other parties also to ensure participation

ISLAMABAD: Amidst reports of split in its ranks, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has instructed its senators to ensure presence in the Senate today [Tuesday] as lower house is expected to take up the crucial bill on constituencies’ delimitation.

In a bid to ensure full attendance of it senators in the Tuesday’s session during which the delimitation bill is to be tabled again, the PML-N leadership has directed their lawmakers not to fly abroad or stay out of city.

The PML-N is concerned that some of its senators who apparently disagree with the party’s policies on certain issues may not show up at the Tuesday’s session.



Even though other political parties have assured support to the government, the government fears it may still fail to get the bill passed if the ruling party’s disgruntled senators do not show up to ensure the desired two-thirds majority. The bill has already been passed by the lower house.

In this context, Leader of the House in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq is reaching out to political parties with representation in the upper house and pressing them to ensure that their lawmakers attend the session.

Requesting anonymity, a PML-N lawmaker told The Express Tribune that some PML-N senators who were part of a dissident group might avoid participating in the voting process.

“There are some legislators who may abstain from voting or avoid attending the session on some pretext which is why everybody has been instructed to be present,” he said.

He, however, clarified that the party leadership had not warned the PML-N senators to be proceeded against in case of not showing up at Tuesday session given that any such move may end up further aggravating the rift between the dissidents and the leadership.

“The party command doesn’t want any controversy that could ignite internal animosity. The first priority is to get the bill sail through the Senate with unity and cooperation,” said the lawmaker. “If the bill gets defeated, the party might go for holding people responsible. But I don’t think things would go that far,” he added.

Last month, the opposition moved a crucial bill in the National Assembly apparently to prevent Nawaz Sharif from heading the PML-N after being disqualified by the apex court.

Even though the government managed to defeat the bill with simple majority, it could secure only 163 votes despite the fact that the PML-N alone has 188 members in the lower house and the strength of the ruling coalition is around 240 members. As many as 25 PML-N lawmakers did not attend the NA session.

Earlier on Friday, uncertainty regarding fate of the upcoming general elections somewhat cleared after the government and the opposition finally agreed to move on December 19 [today] the much-awaited bill in the Senate on the delimitation of constituencies. The consensus was arrived at during the ‘breakfast’ meeting of the leaders of parliamentary parties with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.



The meeting also agreed to form a four-member bi-partisan committee on constituencies’ delimitation and Fata reforms. Mushahidullah Khan and Hasil Bizenjo from the government and Taj Haider and Mushahid Hussain from the opposition are the members of the committee. The committee would supervise the audit of census based on 5% random population samples, to be done in 30 days.

Sources said the PM assured the meeting, especially Senator Aitzaz Ahsan, that the PPP’s reservations on the delimitation issue would be looked into.

They said the PM sounded concerned that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) did not attend the meeting given that the moot was held mainly to allay reservations of the PPP and the PTI on the delimitation issue.