ISLAMABAD: The shocking defeat in the Senate due to defection of its 14 members in last week’s crucial vote against Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani has not dampened the opposition’s resolve to give a tough time to the government as it still plans to submit a fresh no-trust motion against him, Dawn has learnt.

Sources in the opposition said contacts were under way between different leaders to give a final shape to the plan. “We have learnt a lesson from our failure and now a no-confidence motion would be submitted after amending the rules providing for secret ballot for voting on no-trust resolution against the Senate chairman,” a source said.

He said that the set of rules governing the procedure would also be suitably amended to remove any ambiguity if such motions could be taken up in a requisitioned session or not. He said the timing of the move would be decided after thorough consultations.

Former president Asif Ali Zardari in an informal chat with reporters on Wednesday had also hinted at the plan, saying there was no bar under the rules against moving a no-trust motion against a specific period after failure of the first attempt. He clearly indicated that there was a plan to move a no-trust motion against the Senate chairman again.

A no-trust resolution against the speaker or deputy speaker of the National Assembly, if defeated, cannot be brought for three months. “But there is no such rule for the Senate,” Mr Zardari had remarked.

New move to be tabled after amending rules about secret ballot for voting

The joint opposition had submitted a no-trust motion against the Senate chairman after a decision to this effect had been finalised by the anti-government Rahbar Committee, which was responded with a tit-for-tat motion against the Senate deputy chairman by the ruling PTI and its allies.

The Senate met on Aug 1 to take up the two no-trust motions with Barrister Moham­mad Ali Saif of the MQM in the chair.

As many as 64 members of the opposition rose in their seats to approve the motion seeking leave to move the no-trust motion against Mr Sanjrani, but when it came to secret balloting, only 50 of the opposition senators voted in favour of the resolution. Five votes were declared void which, according to sources, had been wrongly stamped on purpose. The sources said four of these bore stamp in both boxes — one in favour of and the other against the resolution. It was even then a close call as the opposition merely fell short of three votes to send Mr Sanjrani packing.

While the opposition accused the government of horse-trading and criticised its own members who, according to it, sold their souls, the government said that some opposition senators had voted in the secret ballot in accordance with their conscience. Two mainstream opposition parties had also formed separate committees to probe the role of their senators in the no-trust move.

PML-N secretary general Ahsan Iqbal, while talking to reporters following an opposition’s meeting after the defeat, had said the rules would be amended to do away with the condition of secret ballot.

The issue is, however, unlikely to figure at the joint opposition’s Rahbar Committee meeting here on Friday (today).

“The committee had a one-point agenda — the situation in held Kashmir — but the government has changed the situation by arresting PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz. We will review this vindictive action in the meeting as well”, Mr Iqbal told Dawn on Thursday.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2019