ISLAMABAD  -  Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Tuesday warned the Election Com­mission that any further delay in the conduct of general elections beyond February next year would create an­other biggest constitutional crisis as the Senate will become totally dys­functional following the retirement of half of its members in March 2024. Speaking in the Senate before resumption of debate on the Pales­tine crisis, PPP lawmaker Mian Raza Rabbani said that one constitution­al violation of delay in the holding of elections beyond the limit of 90 days has a snowball effect of more such violations.

He appealed to the ECP to an­nounce the exact election date with­out further delay because a new big­gest crisis would arise if elections are not held till February next year. This is because half of the members of the Senate will retire on March 12 after completing their six-year term, he said. He added that the terms of chairman and deputy chairman are set to expire on that date and the house would be without chairman and deputy chairman after this.

Former chairman Senate Rabbani pointed out that the Punjab caretak­er government has also committed a constitutional violation by approv­ing the budgetary allocation for four months for the second time.

He said the Punjab cabinet, earlier this week, gave approval of the bud­get for another four months – from October 2023 to February 2024 – for the second time which was a viola­tion of Article 126 of the Constitu­tion. Rabbani said a similar violation was being committed by the Khy­ber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker govern­ment as well, which had already ap­proved a four-month budget.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed speaking on a motion on the Palestine issue said that Pakistan stand should be very clear and call for an immediate end to genocide in Gaza, and for an end of Israeli occu­pation. We demand for the establish­ment of Palestinian state with Jeru­salem as its capital, he further said.

Vice-President PPP Senator Sher­ry Rehman speaking on her turn said that the actions taken by Is­rael in Gaza amount to a form of state-sponsored terrorism, not ter­rorism by non-state actors.

She stressed that the ongoing war in Gaza would continue, and its foot­print would gradually spread else­where, leaving an indelible scar on global politics.

PPP Senator Quratulain Mar­ri suggested to the neutral coun­tries to remove the guise of neu­trality and oppose openly and start mass campaigns in their own coun­tries against barbarism on Palestin­ian people.