Important issues in Senate: Fate of legislation hangs in the balance

The fate of legislation on important issues in the Senate hangs in the balance as opposition is not ready to extend support to any government bill and is virtually dysfunctional due to the alleged apathy of Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani towards legislative business.

The treasury benches are likely to move a bill in Parliament soon to pave the way for a three-year extension in the term of service of army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa; and has committed to Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to tighten legislation on terror financing and money laundering, failing which Pakistan could be placed on its black list.

Unlike in the National Assembly where the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has a simple majority, in the Senate it is a minority party. In the 104-member Senate whose current strength is 103 members (Ishaq Dar has yet to take oath), the opposition parties' strength is 65. The strength of PTI and its coalition partners' stands at 38, 15 short of securing a simple majority of 53 to get any bill passed.

The existing scenario has left the treasury benches reluctant to move legislative bills in the upper house fearing that they would face rejection at the hands of the opposition.

Speaking to Business Recorder, Leader of the Opposition in Senate Raja Zafar-ul-Haq slammed the role of the treasury benches and chairman Senate for his "apathy" in dealing with the legislative business.

"The role of the government is in front of all of us. It is not serious at all in parliamentary business. That is why it is relying on presidential ordinances instead of parliamentary legislation. We strongly oppose this practice and will continue to resist it."

Haq said the chairman Senate's apathy in running the affairs of Senate is evident from the fact that he summoned the last (294th) session of the Senate on November 5, and that too on a requisition moved by opposition, more than two months after the 293rd session was prorogued on September 3. "The chairman has the foremost responsibility on his shoulder, to play his proactive role in forging parliamentary unity between the treasury and opposition benches for effective parliamentary legislation. But he is nowhere to be seen."

To a query regarding opposition's support to the bill regarding extension in army chief's term, he said the opposition would review the draft of the bill once it lands in the Senate and then decide.

Senator Dr Sikandar Mandhro from Pakistan People's Party (PPP) hinted at his party's support to the government's upcoming bill regarding the army chief's extension in Senate. "I think consensus should be evolved before taking any decision on the matter. If this legislation is in the interest of the country then it should be done by reaching a political consensus," he said.

The PPP would not blindly accept the government bill and review it in detail before taking any decision, Mandhro said. "It's the job of the government to take opposition parties on board for legislation on issues of important national matters," he told Business Recorder.

A PTI senator on condition of anonymity maintained that the opposition parties would not oppose the bill regarding army chief's extension. "The opposition parties cannot afford any kind of animosity with the establishment. The opposition is well aware of who wants legislation on issues like army chief's service extension. You would see that no one from the opposition would oppose the related bill once it lands in parliament," he told Business Recorder.

The lawmaker said that the government decided to rely on presidential ordinances after a government bill seeking increase in the number of the judges of Islamabad High Court (IHC) was defeated in the Senate due to opposition's resistance a few months back. "It's not the government but the opposition that is totally non-serious in legislation on public interest issues which is the major reason of our government's reliance on presidential ordinances," the senator said.