ISLAMABAD: It seems that the gulf between the opposition’s alliance, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is widening fast as a new controversy has surfaced between Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and other parties of the alliance that may lead to dismembering of the alliance.
In a new twist to the differences among the PDM parties, the PPP has decided to bring its opposition leader in the Senate – a decision that is being labeled by the alliance as ‘betrayal to the PDM’s steering committee’s decisions’.
Sources in the PPP informed Pakistan Today that the PPP has decided to nominate Sherry Rehman as the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and Awami National Party (ANP) and Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) have assured support to the PPP. According to PPP sources, the PPP has 21 votes in the Senate, while four senators of ANP and BNP-M, who have two members each, have assured their support to Sherry.
Sources said that the PPP will submit the petition signed by 25 centres to the Senate Secretariat in a few days, claiming the slot of opposition leader in the Senate.
On the contrary, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) says that the PPP has betrayed the alliance and it has also started a signature campaign from the PDM senators to sign in favour of its nominee, Azam Nazir Tarar as opposition leader in the Senate.
The PML-N has 18 seats in the Senate and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has five – this takes the tally to 23. Now the BNP-M and ANP have key decision to make. Whosoever they support would get the slot of the opposition leader in Senate if the PPP and PML-N fail to reach a thaw.
According to the PML-N, the committee had decided that slot of Senate chairman would go to the PPP while the PML-N would get leader of the opposition while the JUI-F would get deputy chairman’s slot.
AMONG PDM, ONLY PPP, PML-N, JUI HAVE STAKES IN ASSEMBLIES:
An interesting fact has come to light about the nine parties of the PDM that have called for the resignation of the PPP from assemblies – most of the parties have little or no stakes in assemblies at all.
However, the PPP is vehemently opposing it. Interestingly, the nine-party assembly that called on the PPP to resign have only a few seats in National Assembly (NA).
Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, which is a member of PDM, has no seat in the National Assembly. So is Qaumi Watan Party headed by Aftab Sherpao which has no member in the National Assembly. He also has no seat in the NA. Jamiat Ahle Hadith also has no seat in the lower house and its leader, Sajid Mir, has been elected on PML-N ticket.
Dr Abdul Malik Baloch’s National Party (NP) also has no member in the NA. Mahmood Achakzai’s Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) also has no member in the lower house.
Five of the nine parties have no seats in the National Assembly. The sixth party is the ANP which has only one member in the National Assembly. Akhtar Mengal’s BNP-M has four seats. The JUI has 14 seats in the lower house while PML-N has 83 seats in the NA.
In other words, seven out of nine parties supporting the resignation have only five members in the NA. There are five parties calling for resignation from the assemblies which have no member in the lower house.
