Dar says both sides of the aisle have to revive sanctity of upper house.

ISLAMABAD  -   The ruling coalition in the centre and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday in a rare show of agreement offered an olive to each other to pull the country out of economic quagmire.

Some sanity prevailed soon after both sides traded barbs in the first regular session of the new but still incomplete 96-member Senate.

The newly-appointed Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Shibli Faraz in his fiery speech questioned the legitimacy of the present assemblies and demanded a thorough investigation into the discrepancies between Form-45s and 47s in the February 8 national elections.

He said that there had been continuous violation of the law and the constitution in the country for the last over two years. He added that all the challenges facing the country can be tackled by ensuring rule of law and supremacy of the constitution. The opposition leader said that the constitution was violated by not holding the general elections, within 90 days, of the National Assembly and in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after dissolution of the assemblies. He also talked about how the PTI was deprived of its iconic election symbol.  PTI Senator Shibli underlined the need for collective efforts to deal with enormous challenges confronting Pakistan. “We don’t say that we will do this alone,” he said, adding that their demand was ensuring supremacy of rule of law and constitution that would help in strengthening the institutions.

In his response, the Leader of the House Ishaq Dar welcomed the thoughts expressed by the opposition leader and said that both sides of the aisle have to revive the sanctity of the upper house.

“Let us work together. Let us get Pakistan out of the quagmire,” he said, hoping that the country’s future was bright. It all depends how we react, he said and added, “Let us bury the past. Let us move forward.”

Endorsing the remarks of Senator Shibli, he said that both the treasury and the opposition would have to work together on privatization matter and the energy sector besides on other issues while sitting in the standing committees of the parliament. But before making reconciliatory remarks, Senator Dar chided the PTI for its alleged involvement in May 9 violence. “You committed a blunder. You challenged the state itself and put it in danger,” he said,

He said the PTI should not have incited attacks on the General Headquarters (GHQ) and the Lahore Corps Commander’s House.

He also rejected the criticism over rigging in the elections saying how elections were fair in KP and unfair in Punjab.

Foreign Minister Dar also challenged some other accusations levelled by the opposition leader including delay in the release of funds for the conduct of general election. He said that the last government led by Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had released every penny, as passed by the parliament in the Budget 2023, for the general elections before it completed its term. He added that it was the duty of the caretaker government and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold timely elections.

Former caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on a point of personal explanation said the interim government had no deep desire to extend its stint and it was a constitutional requirement to carry out fresh delimitations after the new census— a reason that delayed the election beyond the 90 days limit.

Speaking on the occasion, independent Senator Faisal Vawda criticized the higher judiciary what he said that it gave controversial judgments including the Nasla Tower case and Reko Diq case that cost the national kitty billions of dollars in the form of penalty. Coming down hard on the judiciary, he said that “if an affidavit is applicable to us, then the same will also apply to all the judges and generals.” “We will get it implemented if it is not happening,” he said, adding that it should not occur that someone gave us certificates of ‘Sadiq and Amin’ outside the house.

The house also referred the money bill – the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 – to the special committee, for examination, in the light of the ruling of Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani soon after the government laid it before the house. The house will give its recommendations on the bill to the National Assembly next week.