Sherry wins Imran loses

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman was Thursday notified as leader of opposition in the Senate, the first-ever woman lawmaker to hold this post.

Enjoying support of 34 opposition senators, she outsmarted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s nominee Senator Muhammad Azam Swati, who had backing of 19 lawmakers in the 104-member House, which means she has actually defeated Imran Khan. The Senate Secretariat issued notification shortly after independent senators showed their political alignment in the House.

However, her notification as opposition leader has formally divided the opposition in the Senate, as PTI nominee Senator Muhammad Azam Swati announced to establish a separate opposition group in the Senate. He thanked MQM and Jamaat-e-Islami for extending support to his party for the slot of opposition leader. Opposition’s Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani was elected chairman Senate while Salim Mandviwala as deputy chairman, pocketing 57 and 54 votes respectively, defeating Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq (46 votes) and Usman Kakar (44 votes). This shows that joint opposition might be enjoying majority in the House, as six senators, belonging to Fata, will have status of independents. Overall, 17 independent senators will sit on treasury and 11 on opposition benches.

“PPP has caused immense damage to opposition in the Senate by not siding with PTI,” Swati maintained here in a statement. He vowed their group would have a distinctive role as opposition and safeguard the national interests.

Shery Rehman replaced PPP’s leading constitutional expert Aitzaz Ahsan, who completed his term as senator on March 11. Senator Sherry’s notification is in total contrast to the claim of Swati, who had claimed to be enjoying support of majority of senators in the opposition and those in the independent group.

Shahrbano Rehman, more known as Sherry Rehman, has been an MNA and held ministerial slots also, in addition to serving as Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States during the previous government of PPP.

She thanked the party leadership and opposition parties for support. She wrote in her twitter account, “Thank you to my party leadership, Chairman @BBhuttoZardari, Pres Zardari and Opposition parties that reposed confidence in me. Thank u to colleagues from FATA and Balochistan, as well as ANP and BNP(M), who have supported all the way. I look forward to working with all opposition”.

In a statement, she said they would make the Senate more effective and proactive and the government would be brought under pressure with regards to its policies. Senator Sherry emphasised that she would take along all opposition parties, including PTI and urged it to strengthen the opposition, as they did in the past.

She acknowledged the fact that to bring forward its own nominee for the post of opposition leader was PTI’s right.

Earlier, all 15 independent senators, who were backed by PML-N in the elections for the Senate, have decided to join the treasury benches, after the Senate Secretariat notified their political alignment in the House.