A file photo of the senate. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Opposition parties on Friday ended their weeklong boycott of the Senate proceedings following successful talks with two ministers minutes before the 98th session of the upper house of parliament was prorogued amid lack of quorum.
On the directives of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid met with the opposition senators in the chamber of the opposition leader to persuade them to end their protest.
Later, the opposition senators, who had held at least three parallel mock sessions outside the Parliament House, went to the makeshift parallel house along with the ministers and announced an end to their boycott.
“After assurance from the government that our concerns will be addressed, we have decided to end the five-day long protest,” said Leader of the Opposition in Senate Chaudhry Aiztaz Ashan.
The opposition ended their boycott on three conditions: 1.) the government will review the controversial answer earlier submitted to the house by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan; 2.) Minister for Education and Technical Trainings Baligh-ur-Rehman will be given the additional charge of state minister for interior to facilitate senators; and 3.) the interior minister will ensure his presence during the opposition’s privilege motion.
Earlier, the Senate’s regular session was first adjourned for 30 minutes after PPP Senator Syed Ghani pointed out that only 20 lawmakers were present in the house against the required quorum of 26.
After a 30-minute interval, Senate Chairman Nayyar Bokhari resumed the proceedings but the house still lacked quorum and therefore the chairman prorogued the house. In the meanwhile the opposition also ended their boycott.
Earlier Friday, the parallel house outside the Parliament House – held under the chairpersonship of Senator Kalsoom Perveen – passed a resolution to endorse the National Assembly’s resolution rejecting the schedule for local government elections.
“This house rejects the schedule given for three provinces to hold the LG elections in haste,” said the resolution. It also stated that other institutions should avoid interfering in the affairs of parliament, adding that the LG elections were crucial for upholding democracy and should not be held in haste.
Responding to a question, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar ensured that the government would provide funds for the local government elections. “However, the ballot papers will not be printed by the government to avoid any question on the transparency of the printing process,” he added.
Later, the mock session was also prorogued
Published in The Express Tribune, November 9th, 2013.
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PMLN is not trustworthy. Their track records points this.