Taj Haider highlights reasons for PML-N defeat in Senate

LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party central leader and former Senator Taj Haider has said the vote in the “House of Federation” was in fact a vote against the anti-Federation policies and actions of the PML-N government.

“It is so ridiculous that a leadership that has always relied on the support of religious extremists and the establishment, which has usurped rights of smaller provinces, whose politics of confrontation is paving the way for a new dictatorship, is being portrayed as a champion of democracy” said the former PPP Senator from Sindh in a statement issued Tuesday.

He said that the critics of PPP were so weak in arithmetic and deliberately ignoring the basic political contradictions only with the purpose of falsely maligning the PPP and its leadership. He said ascribing a decisive role to the establishment by senior politicians and analysts, was not only demeaning for the political class, but is also tantamount to dragging the judiciary and the army in politics, something that no sincere democrat would prefer to do. He said the PML-N action has been rejected through vote in Senate.

Criticising the PML-N government, he said that changing of the CPEC route that was agreed in All Parties Conference, sabotaging the NFC award, back tracking on the agreement on validation of Census 2017 signed by all Parliamentary Party Leaders of the Senate, not allowing a Secretariat of CCI to be established were some out of many un-constitutional steps taken by it. Besides, he said usurping the 50% ownership of the provinces on Oil & Gas by denying the implementation of Article 172(3), the total roll back of the 18th Amendment, blocking of the EOBI and WWF Funds which belong to the provinces, the gross shortage of even drinking water in Gwadar, the step-motherly treatment of the devastated Fata and the reduction in their population by more than five million on which the Senate committees have been regularly protesting and which cut down on the roots of the Federation are also the mistakes on part of this government which was defeated in the Upper House.

“In this political background, which Senator belonging to Fata, the smaller provinces or any right thinking Senator from Punjab would vote for the government candidates” the former PPP Senator asked.

He said it was regretful that most important political issues are being ignored, while allegations without any proofs are being levelled against members of the House of Federation.

Raising different questions, the PPP leaders said how could Fata Senators vote for PML-N candidates, and how could MQM Senators with genuine grievance of artificial reduction of at least 15 million in Sindh’s population vote for PML-N? How could the lone members from JI and ANP vote for the government?

One just has to add up the numbers of those senators, who opposed to the government policies and actions to arrive at the number of secured votes, he added. The virtual enmity between PTI and PML-N is a matter of daily occurrence, he stated.

Taj Haider said it was disappointing for him to find that PKMAP and NP who have always been so vocal for the constitutional rights of smaller provinces and for strengthening of Federation chose to side with a government, which had trampled these rights under its feet.

“Was it the inclusion of some of their leaders in the PML-N government that made them go against their established stands” asked the former Senator.

celebrations: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) jialas on Tuesday gathered at Punjab Secretariat to celebrate the victory of PPP and allies in polls for Senate Chairman and Deputy Chairman. Punjab PPP and Lahore leaders, including former adviser to PM Ch Aslam Gill, Lahore president Haji Aziz-ur-Rehman Chan, former MPA Dr Zia Ullah Khan Bangash, Shahida Jabeen and others, chanted slogans in favour of party leadership besides lauding its political sagacity. Sweets were distributed among the jialas to celebrate the victory. Speaking on the occasion, the PPP leadership hailed political sagacity of leadership and stated the success in Senate reflected the victory of the party’s policy of national reconciliation.