January 15, 2007	Monday	Zilhaj 24, 1427

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ISLAMABAD Jan 14: The Senate is all set to meet after a lapse of three months on Tuesday, with both the treasury and opposition members preparing to grill each other on a number of national and international issues.

Marred by internal rifts though, opposition parties have so far demonstrated rare unity in the Senate and are likely to continue the same in the upcoming session.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan Niazi described both the opposition alliances, the ARD and the MMA, as houses of cards and rejected that the opposition was in a position to cause any problem to the government in the session.

Talking to Dawn, Dr Niazi said the government had enough items on the agenda to keep the session going for 23 days.

Contradicting the government claim, ARD parliamentary secretary Izhar Amrohi said it was rather the opposition which would run the business in the upper house. He said they would present over 30 motions, each one requiring a detailed debate.

He said the treasury members would get a tough time on the issue of the promulgation of an ordinance relating to the Foreigners Act.

He said a number of adjournment motions had already been submitted to the Senate Secretariat on ‘heavy’ increase in LPG prices, general price hike, ‘government failure’ to reduce petroleum prices, retrenchment of over 200 officials from the Pakistan International Airlines, removal of over 1,300 people from the Habib Bank Limited, purchase of additional land in violation of the Land Acquisition Act for an airport in Islamabad, poor law and order situation and education minister’s unawareness regarding the number of chapters in the Holy Quran.

The opposition, Mr Amrohi said, would also submit a motion as regards the recent killing of Additional Advocate General of Punjab Arif Bhinder along with eight others, which spoke volumes of the worsening law and order situation in the country.

Dr Niazi, however, said the opposition was not in a position to demonstrate any fireworks in the upper house in view of the in-fight they were currently experiencing.

The Senate session comes at a time when two major components of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy – PPP and PML-N – have had to keep their political cooperation going despite serious differences over a proposed multi-party moot in London and reports of former’s talks with the government.

The MMA is also faced with a make-or-break situation on whether or not to resign from the National Assembly. The alliance has cancelled the meeting of its supreme council, authorised to give a final word on the issue.

He said despite signing ARD’s Charter of Democracy, which prohibited signatory parties to cooperate with generals, the PPP was in talks with the government.

He said that an important resolution sought to be moved on behalf of the governments of the North West Frontier Province, Balochistan and Sindh, seeking to amend the Seed Act, would be taken up on the first day of the upcoming session.

A number of ordinances, including National Database Authority Ordinance 2006, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority Act 2006, and several bills were on their agenda, he said.