Daily Times

Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on Friday declared Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani as leader of the opposition in Senate with effect from March 26.

The chairman declared Gilani as leader of the opposition in pursuance of Rule 16 (3) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate 2012, according to a notification issued here on Friday.

Gilani, a former prime minister, had recently been elected to the Senate after defeating the ruling PTI’s candidate Abdul Hafeez Sheikh.

On Friday, Gilani, along with Senator Sherry Rehman, reached the Parliament House and met Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, to whom the nomination papers were submitted. Rehman said that the application had been filed with signatures from a total of 30 senators – 21 from the PPP, two from the Awami National Party, one from the Jamaat-i-Islami, two from members belonging to erstwhile FATA and four from the independent group of Dilawar Khan. Reports identified senators Hidayatullah Khan, Hilal-ur-Rehman, Mushtaq Ahmed and Nawabzada Arbab Umar Farooq as some of the names who had signed the agreement.

PML-N’s Azam Nazir Tarrar, according to reports, had the support of 21 opposition senators, while JUI-F, which has five senators, did not support any candidate. The development is being dubbed as another ‘knockdown punch’ by PPP supremo Asif Ali Zardari as an ‘unseasoned’ Maryam Nawaz gets another ‘political disillusionment’.

The issue of the Senate opposition leader had become a bone of contention within the opposition alliance as both PML-N and PPP had been publicly claiming their right to the key office. The PML-N maintains that the decision that the opposition leader in Senate would be from the PML-N had been taken by a PDM committee. The PPP, meanwhile, admits that it had previously agreed to giving the office of the opposition leader to the PML-N in return for nomination of Gilani for the office of Senate chairman, but the situation had changed after Gilani’s defeat.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari insists the PPP has a right to nominate the leader of the opposition since it is the political party, among the opposition, which enjoys a majority in the Senate. Behind-the-scenes negotiations were under way within the PDM to resolve differences between the PPP and PML-N on the issue of the opposition leader.

Sherry Rehman on Friday rubbished claims that the nomination of Yousaf Raza Gilani signified the ‘funeral’ of the PDM, adding, “This is the right of the PPP, we have 21 members.”

Addressing a press conference later in the day, Gilani said it was PPP which had convinced the PDM to contest the Senate elections and the recent by-polls after the legal experts it consulted gave the opinion that the Senate elections would take place even if the opposition resigned from the assemblies. “The benefit was that whatever by-elections the PDM contested, it won,” he added. The former prime minister said it has always been the PPP’s stance that the election process should not be quit, emphasising that “the voice of parliament is the voice of the people of Pakistan and we should not ignore it.”

Talking about the differences that emerged between the PPP and the rest of the PDM, Gilani said his party had completed all preparations for the opposition long march and sit-in on March 26, but in the latest PDM meeting, a view came forward that the long march would be of no benefit without resignations.

“It was a new thing for us and because of it, there was [not misunderstanding but] difference of opinion. It is the spirit of democracy, when you agree to disagree it is democracy,” he added.

Gilani said Bilawal believes that the opposition leader’s position in Senate should be held by the PPP for being the largest opposition party in the Senate. Under the same formula, Gilani said, the PML-N was given the offices of the opposition leader and Public Accounts Committee chairperson in the National Assembly.

According to Gilani, PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari then contacted various PDM leaders regarding the issue, but they refused the proposal for the opposition leader’s office to be given to the PPP. “In that situation, many parties contacted us saying that it was our right [to hold the opposition leader’s office] … and told Zardari sahib that we are ready to vote for you,” he said, adding that in subsequent negotiations, the JI, ANP, two erstwhile FATA members and Dilawar Khan’s group agreed to vote for him. “This way, we got 30 votes and they made me the leader of the opposition. In the eyes of the public, technically, I have already won the Senate chairmanship. […] But today I was named the leader of the opposition.”

Gilani said the PDM saw a ‘ceasefire’ in the last few days and during conversations between the PPP, PML-N and JUI-F leadership, it was decided that the opposition would be kept intact and statements would not be issued against each other. “So we expect there would be no criticism from the other side. A senior office-bearer has said that a majority has been formed after taking people from the BAP (Balochistan Awami Party). I am telling you, there are two people from FATA. Dilawar sahib has had contact with the PML-N. He has a group of four independent people. So calling it a ‘government opposition’ is not appropriate and we should refrain from saying this to keep the PDM intact,” he maintained.