Horse-trading

Gaius Julius Caesar, the third emperor of the Roman Empire, nicknamed Caligula, had a favourite horse called Incitatus. Caligula loved Incitatus to the point that he promoted his horse and made him a member of the Roman Senate.

What I write is what I hear from sitting MPAs. What I write is what I hear from senatorial candidates. The Balochistan Assembly has 65 MPAs who will directly elect a total of seven senators. To be elected a senator, one would need the support of nine MPAs. There are ‘offers’ and there are ‘bids’. What I hear from sitting MPAs is a demand of around Rs30 million each. After all, this is their last chance before the next election. What I hear is that senatorial candidates are offering around Rs25 million. That would put a price tag of roughly Rs250 million per senate seat. And that would mean a sum of around Rs2 billion changing hands.

What I write is what I hear from sitting MPAs. What I write is what I hear from senatorial candidates. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has 124 MPAs who will directly elect a total of seven senators. To be elected a senator one would need the support of 18 MPAs. There are ‘offers’ and there are ‘bids’. What I hear from sitting MPAs is a demand of around Rs20 million each. After all, this is their last chance before the next election. That would put a price tag of roughly Rs350 million per senate seat. Yes, your own party’s MPAs are more willing to lower the price tag. For the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly that would mean a sum of around Rs2 billion changing hands.

Lo and behold, between February 18 and March 3, a hefty Rs4 billion may change hands in the Balochistan and the Kyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies. In Fata, secret and not-so-secret meetings are being held between MNAs and senatorial candidates. Money has long been – and continues to be – the most decisive factor in winning a senate seat from Fata. I have heard that at least one senatorial candidate has offered a huge sum of Rs500 million for the privilege of sitting in the Senate.

The PPP currently has 26 senators, 18 of whom are retiring. The PPP, therefore, is the most in need to buy as many senate seats as money can buy. What I write is what I hear from historically dependable sources. The PPP may have assembled a Rs1.5 billion kitty to buy horses in Quetta. Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari is reportedly strategising to win anywhere, from three to six senate seats out of the Balochistan Assembly (and a seat or two in the KP Assembly). Lo and behold, the PPP does not have a single MPA in the Balochistan Assembly.

What I hear is that MPAs in the Punjab and Sindh assemblies are envious of their counterparts in the Balochistan and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies. What I hear is that the Senate election in the Punjab and Sindh assemblies will be relatively clean. In Punjab, for instance, 53 MPAs will elect a senator.

In March 2016, there was a protest in the Senate of Pakistan. The honourable senators demanded ‘development funds’. Yes, Sheikh Aftab Ahmed, the minister of state for parliamentary affairs, had promised a fund of Rs20 billion. Lo and behold, Rs20 billion over

104 senators amounts to Rs190 million each. If the Roman Senate can have horses, why can’t we?

The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad.

Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com Twitter: @saleemfarrukh