ISLAMABAD: The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and the Pakistan Peoples Party held a meeting on Thursday to discuss allocation of the Senate’s standing committees, sidelining a powerful 27-member group of opposition senators who refuse to accept PPP’s Yousuf Raza Gilani as leader of the opposition and seek a separate identity, informed sources told Dawn.

The sources said the meeting between Dr Shahzad Waseem, leader of the house in the Senate, and Yousuf Raza Gilani, leader of the opposition, was called to work out a formula for allocation of standing committees. It was attended, among others, by federal ministers Syed Shibli Faraz and Azam Swati, and PPP’s parliamentary leader in the upper house, Sherry Rehman.

Sources in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz said Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani had assured the 27-member opposition group, led by Azam Nazir Tarar, that they would be consulted in the process for distribution of seats.

According to the sources, the PML-N was informed that a meeting would be held in the chairman’s chambers at 11:30am. Since Senator Tarar was busy in Lahore in connection with Shehbaz Sharif’s court case, the party deputed Senators Irfan Siddiqui and Musaddiq Malik to the meeting.

But the two senators were kept waiting for two hours and finally called by the chairman’s office to a meeting. But Mr Sanjrani’s staff told them that the meeting was going on in another room.

According to the sources, Sadiq Sanjrani tried to ensure that the PML-N senators attended the meeting, but was told they would be consulted later.

The chairman sent a message to the participants to come to his chambers, but was informed that they were still busy with their work.

Senator Irfan Siddiqui of the PML-N confirmed the development and made it clear that the government and the “so-called opposition leader” would not be allowed to bulldoze the formation of standing committees.

“We will not tolerate ‘deals’ in formation of standing committees and will put up resistance if our 27-member group is ignored in the process,” the senator warned.

Sherry Rehman, the PPP parliamentary leader, said since it was an “institutional meeting” between the leader of the house and the leader of the opposition, there was no room for any third party in it.

But she made it clear that nobody could rob the PML-N of its “rightful share” in the committees. “We will not only give their share in accordance with the ratio, but will also try to accommodate their preferences.”

She said the PPP was determined to keep the opposition united. In reply to a question, Ms Rehman said the PPP did not know that any meeting was called at 11:30am.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2021