PML-N convenes meeting of like-minded opposition parties on July 21

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) convened meeting of like-minded opposition parties in Upper House of the Parliament on Thursday (tomorrow) to deliberate upon the ruling of Chairman Senate on appointment of Leader of the Opposition in Senate and to announce future course of action.
Chairman Senate Farooq H. Naek on Tuesday gave a detailed ruling, endorsing his earlier decision by declaring Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri as leader of the opposition in Senate by turning down the candidature of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Seantor Ishad Dar.
The decision once again promoted rest of the opposition parties including PML-N to meet on Thursday ahead of the Senate session to chalk out future strategy.
Talking to media persons at the Parliament House, Dar said that there were no legal or constitutional justifications to deprive PML-N of the slot of the leader of the opposition. He said that ruling of the chairman Senate was implementation of a political agenda contrary to the rules.
The dispute over the opposition leader in senate emerged in the start of the month of May when PML-Q joined the PPP led coalition government in center and vacated the opposition office in the house, which it was holding because of its numerical strength.
The vacant position of opposition leader triggered a tug of war between PML-N and JUI-F for the slot with both claiming being the largest opposition party in the house. However, just a day before the budget session on June 06, Farooq Naek ruled in favour of Abdul Ghafoor Haideri by declaring him as opposition leader, which irked the PML-N and other opposition parties in the house.
"The recent ruling of the chairman is not different to that his previous ruling on June 06", Dar said, adding he was unable to understand that why the matter was debated for a month long in the parliament when the chairman has to give the same ruling.
He said that most of the senators including from the treasury benches have supported the stance of PML-N during the month long debate, but he added that the grounds provided by the chairman in his ruling to 'deprive' PML-N of the slot were not right under any legal and constitutional means. "The ruling is tantamount to once again negate the legal and constitutional arguments given by majority on the matter," Dar was quoted by PML-N media office. He said that an important meeting of parties supporting the PML-N's candidatures for the slot of leader of the opposition would be held on Thursday to deliberate upon the decision of the Chairman Senate and also to chalk out future strategy against the ruling.