ISLAMABAD: Election for the position of the Senate chairman will be a clear departure from the past when the upper house chiefs were elected unopposed for decades to keep the office relatively non-partisan.
The objective of having non-controversial chairmen had mostly been achieved as the successive chiefs successfully maintained their impartiality to a great extent and did not create bad blood in the opposition ranks.
This neutrality was commendable during the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Mian Raza Rabbani’s incumbency to the extent that his rival, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), was the first one to commit its support to him should he be nominated by the PPP. It has now transpired that his independent approach exasperated his boss, Asif Ali Zardari.
Rabbani was unanimously elected in 2015 when the other major parliamentary party, the PML-N, extended its whole-hearted backing to him. However, a contest had been held for the position of the deputy chairman to which Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri was elected with a big margin over his challenger, Shibli Faraz of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Before Rabbani, another PPP stalwart Nayyar Bukhari had also returned uncontested in 2012 to continue for the mandatory three-year term as the upper house chairman. Prior to his tenure, his colleague Farooq Naek was unanimously chosen to hold the slot from 2009 to 2012. Earlier, in the same manner PML-Q’s Muhammad Mian Soomro got this office twice from 2003 to 2009. He was elected during Pervez Musharraf’s era.
Previously, Habibullah Khan, Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Wasim Sajjad served as the Senate chairmen since the upper house was created in the seventies. All and sunder appreciated Rabbani's nomination by PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif as a reconciliatory approach. This move not only elevated PML-N stature but also kindled a sympathy in PPP second-tier leadership, and they are aware of the fact that what kind of game is being played. The PPP which is a majority party in its group is accepting a low-key post and an a few independents are getting the major chunk. PTI Chairman Imran Khan also has 12 senators but he chose to give all his powers to a minority group and made it conditional that they will vote for an independent senator from Balochistan. Imran took this U-turn after 24 hour of announcing that the group led by Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo can use PTI vote at its will (meaning they can also vote PPP candidate). As an ally Zardari bowed down and accepted the Imran's U-turn.
Such move by the PPP Co-Chairman has flabbergasted political circles, who are still trying to absorb that how the PPP could stoop to such lows. The PML-N such had an upper edge that being an opponent and a majority party in Senate it chose not to bring its own candidate and backed senator-elect Raza Rabbani if his party, PPP, nominates him for the Upper House chairman slot. The N-League continued to back him till late Sunday night.
As the election for the Senate chairman and deputy chairman slot will be held through secret ballot it is quite possible that the opponent members rebel against party leadership decision and cast their vote in favour of the PMl-N candidate. In such a scenario it is quite possible that a big upset takes place.
However, when a PPP source privy to Senate election moves of the part said that there was not even a remote chance that PPP legislators vote for some other party, in the same breath adding that all the party senators will follow leadership's decisions.
