Sadiq Sanjrani disallows opposition’s no-trust move in Senate

Zafarul Haq refuses to participate in discussion on motion; session prorogued

ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on Tuesday did not allow the opposition members to move a no-confidence motion against him during the session of the upper house of parliament.

He ruled that the no-confidence motion could not be taken up in a requisitioned session.

The opposition members also refused to participate in the discussion on the motion.

The opposition leader in the house, Raja Zafarul Haq of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), refused to move the motion for discussion.

Haq said the opposition had submitted a no-confidence motion to the Senate secretariat but it was placed for discussion under Rule 218. "The motion can neither be discussed under the rule, nor will the opposition participate in it," he added.

He said a Senate session had already been summoned on August 1 for moving the no-confidence motion against the chairman.

On Haq’s request, the Senate chairman prorogued the session.

Earlier, the chairman announced a panel of presiding officers for the session comprising senators Sitara Ayaz, Ahmad Khan and Agha Shahzaib Durrani.

Chairing the session requisitioned by the opposition members, Sanjrani observed that the resolution for the removal of the Senate chairman or the deputy chairman could be moved only during a regular session of the house.

“The post of the chairman or the deputy chairman would become vacant under Article 61 and paragraph G of clause 7 of Article 53 of the Constitution and for that a seven-day notice would be given after its approval by majority members of the Senate,” he ruled.

According to sub-rule 1 of Rule 12 of the Senate, one-fourth of the total members of the Senate could give a notice in writing to the Senate secretary to move a resolution for the removal of chairman and deputy chairman, he added.

Sanjrani quoted a previous ruling of the chair dated February 10, 2016 and rule 12 sections 1 and 2 of the Senate according to which a session could not be requisitioned for moving a no-confidence motion against the chairman and the deputy chairman.

The Senate chairman was of the view that the motion for the removal of Senate chairman did not fulfil the conditions under Rule 12.

However, under section 1 of Article 54 of the Constitution, he had written to a letter to the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to move a summary to the president so that the resolutions of the opposition could be included in the session despite the fact that it was not mentioned in the Senate rules.

Sanjrani said the copies of his ruling had been provided to the members of the house.

The leader of the house, Shibli Faraz, thanked the members for the smooth proceedings of the day.

Balochistan CM

Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan said the opposition had no sound reason to move a no-confidence motion against the Senate chairman, who, according to him, was running the house efficiently.

Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament House in Islamabad, Kamal said Sanjrani was elected the chairman of the house through a democratic process with the Pakistan Peoples Party’s  (PPP) support.

“Then why is the PPP seeking his removal now?” he remarked.

With additional input from APP