ISLAMABAD: What pro­m­pted the PML-N to issue a controversial late-night presidential order; the single seat that the ruling party had been eyeing from the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata) or the eventual election to the posts of chairman and deputy chairman?

The answer differs depending on who one asks.

A couple of well-connected government sources told Dawn that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had asked his cabinet members to take every possible step to ensure the success of their party’s candidates in the Senate elections. Last week, after receiving the Saudi king’s invitation to him, the PM busied himself in preparation for his first official trip to the kingdom. However, federal ministers such as Pervaiz Rashid, Khawaja Saad Rafique and KP Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmed remained busy with reaching out to other political parties in order to seek their support for the PML-N candidates.

“Throughout Wednesday, government ministers tried their level best to muster support for a ruling party candidate from Fata, but to no avail. Meanwhile, the party’s legal experts had been tasked to work out the presidential order, which was issued after midnight,” said a government source privy to the developments.

Asked if the PM was taken on board before issuing the controversial presidential order, a government source said, “As far as I know, Hamza Shahbaz Sharif — son of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif – was liaising with the two elder Sharifs, who were in Saudi Arabia when the decision was taken.”

Confirming the frantic efforts the government side was making, PML-N MNA from Fata Shahabuddin Khan told newsmen outside Parliament House on Thursday that, “We tried our level best to work out some common ground, however, we were left with no choice but to issue the presidential order.”

For Syed Ghazi Gulab Jamal, parliamentary leader for members of the National Assembly from Fata, it was a bit of both. Talking to Dawn, Mr Jamal explained that under the new scheme of things, three Fata MNAs could elect one senator, which suited the ruling PML-N perfectly as they had three lawmakers from the tribal region.

On the election of a new speaker and deputy speaker of the Senate, Mr Jamal said that after government ministers failed to gain support of independent MNAs from Fata for their candidate, “they must have reached the conclusion that Fata senators would not support its candidates for the top slots in the Senate either.” It now seems that outgoing majority party in the Senate, the PPP will be going toe-to-toe with the ruling PML-N in the election for speaker and deputy speaker.

Without revealing details of the last-ditch efforts made by the government until Wednesday night, Mr Jamal said the government side went the whole hog, but failed. Therefore, as a last resort, they opted for the presidential order.

Of the 11 Fata MNAs currently in the National Assembly, Mr Jamal leads a group of six, who had come together to elect four senators of their choosing. With one MNA having four votes, the remaining five MNAs, including the three from the PML-N, were rendered ineffective.

Responding to allegations of horse-trading, Mr Jamal told Dawn the four candidates they were supporting were all relatives of the MNAs who would be voting, therefore, the buying and selling of votes for them didn’t make sense.

For example, he said, candidate Taj Mohammad is the brother of MNA Alhaj Shah Jee Gul Afridi, while Moman Khan is the brother of MNA Nasir Khan and candidate Sajjad Turi is a relative of Sajid Turi and “I am supporting Aurangzeb. Will a brother ask for money from his brother?”

The issue of horse-trading, according to Mr Jamal, was raised by those who couldn’t buy votes from Fata this time, otherwise, the issue wouldn’t be in the public eye.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2015

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