No-trust move against Sanjrani

ISLAMABAD: The main opposition parties, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), have devised a strategy to avoid defections among their members ahead of the secret ballot on August 1, on no-confidence motion against Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, the reliable sources told The News here on Sunday.

“The opposition parties including PML-N and PPP have formed various small party groups comprising four to five senators and each group will be monitored by a senior member who will keep vigil unless secret ballot is completed on no-confidence motion against the Senate Chairman,” the sources said.

The sources said the senators belonging to PML-N and PPP are now part of relevant WhatsApp groups and they are now sharing complete details of their activities and travel plans in these groups to avoid any kind of misperception about them on the eve of the no-confidence motion in the Senate.

They said both the PML-N and PPP have also directed their Senators not to meet Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani or sit in his chamber as the government functionaries allegedly use it for propaganda against the opposition parties.

As far as the calculations are concerned, the joint opposition apparently seems to be in a ‘comfort zone’ as it has significantly increased its numerical strength in the Senate ahead of no-confidence motion against Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani. “The opposition parties have a clear support of 61 members in the upper house of the Parliament while it requires only magical figure of 52 in 103-member House to remove Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani from his post,” the sources said.

The sources said the opposition alliance comprises the PML-N with thirty senators, PPP with twenty MPs, National Party of Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo with five members, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) with four senators, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) of Mehmood Khan Achakzai with two legislators and Awami National Party (ANP) of Asfandyar Wali with one MP. They said PML-N’s Senator Chaudhry Tanvir is not likely to cast his vote in no-confidence motion as he is abroad to avoid arrest in a case related to ‘Benami’ assets.

When contacted, PPP’s Farhatullah Babar told The News, “We have completed our homework at the party level and are ready to pass no-confidence motion against Sadiq Sanjrani in the Senate.” “We have made a strategy to pass no-confidence motion against the Senate Chairman but I cannot share it with media due to party discipline,” he said. To a question, he said “If someone tells you that some PPP’s senators will defy the party leadership then ask him to mention the names of those members instead of spreading false rumors to serve political agenda,” he said.

PML-N’s Senator Pervaiz Rasheed in his text message to The News said, “Why should anyone leave the winning side. It is now quite clear that the joint opposition enjoys comfortable numerical strength in Senate and no-confidence motion against the Senate Chairman will be passed without facing any kind of problem.”