Heavyweights to lose Senate membership in March

ISLAMABAD: Four federal ministers, the chairman and deputy chairman of the Senate, and a number of heavyweights of different political parties would be no more members of the Upper House of Parliament in coming March on the expiration of their tenures. The March 3 election to half of the Senate will substantially change the complexion of the Senate with new parliamentary players landing in the driving seat.
A predominant majority of the fifty-two retiring senators is unlikely to return this time because their parties do not have sufficient representation in the Electoral College to elect them.
Chairman Nayyar Bokhari elected from Islamabad and Deputy Chairman Sabir Baloch representing Balochistan will be among the retiring senators on completion of their tenures. They held the office for three-year mandatory term. Both belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had a smooth tenure because of the grip of their party on the Senate.
However, they have no chance of return. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) nominees, who will replace them, will get the two slots after more than a decade and a half. Since 1999, it has been in minority in the Senate. During this period, these positions were held, first by the PML-Q representatives and later by the PPP, for having the requisite numerical strength in the Upper House.
The retiring ministers include Pervez Rashid and Mushahidullah Khan, elected from Punjab, Abbas Afridi representing tribal areas and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, elected from Balochistan. Most of them will surely stage a comeback in the fresh election. Mushahidullah Khan was inducted in the federal cabinet just a few weeks back.
Gulzar Ahmed Khan and his son Waqar Ahmed Khan, representing the PPP, also simultaneously retire apart from PPP’s Sughra Imam, daughter of Syeda Abida Hussain and Syed Fakhar Imam. Her father is associated with the PML-N while her mother has no longer interest in politics. PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain is another leading politician, who will leave the Senate. His party received a severe battering in the 2013 general elections.
Besides, leader of the House in the Senate Raja Zafarul Haq, Syed Zafar Ali Shah, Sardar Yaqoob Nasir, Prof Sajid Mir, Najma Hameed and Chaudhry Jaffar Iqbal belonging to the PML-N will retire. Babar Khan Ghauri of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) will also exhaust his tenure apart from Awami National Party (ANP)’s Zahid Khan, Haji Adeel and Afrasaib Khattak and Hasil Bizenjo of National Party.
Prominent PPP leaders including Rehman Malik, Maula Bux Chandio, Farooq H Naek and Jehangir Badr will go home. Qayyum Soomro, who was elected only a couple of months back, will also retire.
According to the rules, at the first meeting of the Senate, after the members have taken oath and to the exclusion of any other business including privilege and adjournment motions, the Senate will proceed to elect from amongst its members a chairman, and so often as this office becomes vacant it will elect another member as its chairman.
The first meeting of the Senate for election of the chairman and any subsequent session for this purpose held at a time when the office of the deputy chairman is also vacant or he is otherwise unable to preside over it, will be presided over by a person nominated by the President for the purpose. No person will chair the meeting for the election in which he himself is a candidate.
Some political parties, which though got a few members elected to the provincial assemblies, are unexpected to get representation in the Senate because they don’t have the required number of lawmakers to elect even a single senator.