Senate chairman election: Govt offers Haideri deputy chairman slot

ISLAMABAD: The government Tuesday offered the slot of deputy chairman Senate to JUI-F leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, who has also been nominated by PDM for the same slot.

Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak made the offer in a bid to get Haideri’s support for the top slot of the Upper House of Parliament.

“We offer him the seat of the Senate deputy chairman,” Khattak said while responding to a volley of questions during an informal talk with newsmen in the corridors of the Parliament House after a meeting with JUI-F senior leader. Haideri, whose party is also a member of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), however, said neither he could predict who would be elected as the Senate chairman on March 12 nor had he been informed about PDM’s decision about candidates for the top slots of Senate. When pressed to confirm whether he had been offered the slot of the Senate deputy chairman by the government, he said leaders from other political parties were also sitting with the Senate chairman and such discussion took place there.

At the same time, the JUI-F leader said Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak on Tuesday gave a statement about offering him the Senate deputy chairman seat.

"There is no worth of any offer from the government, which we do not recognize," he said. He said Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) was fully United and focused on winning the elections of the Senate chairman and deputy chairman.

Meanwhile, Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Tuesday felicitated Yusuf Raza Gilani and Abdul Ghafoor Haideri for their nomination as the PDM candidates for the offices of chairman and deputy chairman respectively.

He said democratic forces were united against the current incapable and incompetent government.

He said Gilani’s success was in fact a victory of the people of Pakistan.

He also expressed pleasure over the announcement of PDM panel for March 12 election for the Senate chairman and deputy chairman.

Meanwhile, a four-member committee of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Tuesday decided to field JUI-F leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri for the office of deputy chairman, while PML-N will get the seat of opposition leader.

The PDM committee met here with former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

The meeting discussed the names of candidates for the deputy chairman.

The other members of the committee are Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Tahir Bazenjo and Mian Iftikhar Hussain.

Haideri also called on JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman at his residence.

Fazl congratulated him on his nomination and expressed hope that PDM joint candidates would win the elections on March 12.

However, sources said Fazl will make a formal announcement in this connection. Reacting to the government’s offer to Maulana Haideri, PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah said the government was trying to create a rift in the PDM.

“The JUI-F is bound to follow the decisions taken by the PDM leadership,” he said.

Hafiz Hamdullah, a JUI-F leader, said he was not aware of any offer made to his party leader but how they could accept the offer when they did not recognise the government.