ISLAMABAD: Days after the abrupt prorogation of the Senate following the passage of a resolution by a quorum-less house seeking to postpone general elections, senators belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) have requisitioned a session to discuss the timely conduct of free and fair polls.

PTI Senator Syed Ali Zafar submitted the requisition notice on Thursday, signed by lawmakers from the three political parties, advocating for holding general elections on February 8.

“Glad that, apart from PTI, other political parties, including PPP and JI, have also joined for this democratic purpose,” he said in a statement. “Elections on time are the right of my fellow Pakistanis,” he added.

JI Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan took to X, formerly Twitter, to state that the agenda of the requisitioned session inclu­des ensuring the conduct of free, fair, and impartial elections on the given date of February 8, following the decision of the Supreme Court and the election schedule ann­ounced by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The agenda also contained suggestions to foil any efforts to make the elections controversial, he added.

Last week, the Senate passed a controversial resolution seeking the postponement of the February 8 elections over security and bad weather concerns. The resolution, moved by independent Senator Dilawar Khan and supported by Balochistan Awami Party senators, drew criticism from different segments of society.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2024