THE PPP has warned the government against what it describes as an attempt to paralyse the Senate since the upper house has not been called into session for a significant period of time. PPP parliamentary leader Sherry Rehman told journalists that the Senate had not met for 108 days in any formal, full session and this was an unprecedented gap in the history of the upper house. She pointed out that as per Article 61 of the Constitution, the Senate was required to meet for no less that 110 days in a parliamentary year.

Ms Rehman has a valid point. The government’s reluctance to call the Senate in session is reflective of its overall attitude towards parliament. This attitude crystallised in the early days of this government when the opposition started giving a tough time to Prime Minister Imran Khan and the treasury benches on the floor of the house.

In response, the government too adopted a hard-line stance, as a result of which parliamentary proceedings saw little else except shouting matches and mutually amplified acrimony. It wasn’t that a working relationship between the government and the opposition broke down in parliament; it was never built in the first place.

The PTI, new to power at the centre, found it impossible to transition from the mindset and approach it had acquired during its opposition years, and opted, therefore, to be combative rather than accommodative — which governments are supposed to be traditionally.

Hence, the business of legislation fell victim to confrontation and conflict that marred the proceedings of both houses. The government then decided to legislate through presidential ordinances, in a move to bypass the opposition. Since it does not have a majority in the upper house, it has been shying away from summoning the Senate.

Democracy is not supposed to work like this. Parliaments all over the world experience turbulence and verbal duels but they continue to legislate on the basis of a working relationship between the government and the opposition.

In our case, the ruling PTI has refused to internalise this basic lesson in running a parliament. Such a negative attitude will now be put to severe test when parliament comes around to legislating on the issue of the extension of the army chief as ordered by the Supreme Court.

This legislation requires deep and serious consultation, constant engagement and an exchange of ideas as well as appreciation of the nuances involved in drafting such a bill. This is a tall order for a parliament that has struggled to hold a meaningful and civil debate since it came into being last year.

The government should, therefore, take the initiative to cool down the temperatures on the floor of both houses, reach out to the other side and start to take the National Assembly and Senate seriously.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2019