Talking to Dawn, a senior parliamentarian said: “Lawmakers both from the treasury and opposition are poised to register their strong protest against the attitude of the prime minister who has been regularly attending the lower house of parliament while ignoring almost all sessions of the upper house throughout its tenure.” - File photo

ISLAMABAD: The government may come under fire over the continued absence of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani from the Senate when the house holds a special session on Friday.

The session has a one-point agenda of passing the 20th Amendment Bill that was adopted by the National Assembly on Tuesday.

The president has summoned the special session at 5pm and it is likely to be the last regular sitting of the Senate before half its members complete their term on March 12, according to Izhar Amrohvi, a PPP parliamentary affairs expert.

Election of 54 new members of the house will be held on March 2.

Talking to Dawn, a senior parliamentarian said: “Lawmakers both from the treasury and opposition are poised to register their strong protest against the attitude of the prime minister who has been regularly attending the lower house of parliament while ignoring almost all sessions of the upper house throughout its tenure.”

Several senators have asked the chairman of the house to convey their resentment over the matter to the prime minister.

A meeting held in the office of Senate Chairman Farooq H. Naek to discuss the session’s proceedings was attended by Leader of the House Nayyar Hussain Bokhari, Leader of Opposition Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and leaders of other parliamentary groups.