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  • News Desk
  • Feb 28th, 2015
  • Comments Off on Senate elections: Consensus still eludes proposed amendment
Parliamentary parties have failed to evolve consensus on a constitutional amendment to bring to an end of horse-trading in the upcoming Senate elections. The PPP and JUI-F have opposed any constitutional amendment to deal with the issue, arguing that all parties need to mutually deal with it. The PPP delegation led by opposition leader in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah reportedly rushed to the Zardari House to brief the former President Asif Ali Zardari about the proceedings of a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday.

Talking to media after the meeting, Minister for Textile Abbas Khan Afradi stated that PPP and JUI (F) have been given another day to reconsider their positions in relation to the proposed amendment. Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf leader Arif Alvi told Business Recorder that JUI-F and PPP have been opposed to the amendment. He added that it is up to the government to decide whether or not it wants to introduce an amendment. However, he said that his party could go to the Parliament to take part in the vote if the ruling party decides to bring amendment in the National Assembly. Senator Ishaq Dar said that it would be difficult to pass an amendment from the Senate unless PPP and other parties agreed to the proposed legislation. Muttahida Qumi Movement (MQM) and Jamaat-i-Islami have supported the constitutional amendment.

Earlier, speaking to the parliamentary parties' leaders, the Prime Minister stated that this is a matter of concern for all democratic forces that the buying and selling of votes of parliamentarians is going on. He urged the political parties to put an end to horse-trading and save Senate from corruption, so that democracy could flourish in the country. He further stated that the Senate, being the upper House of Parliament, is sacred and it is binding upon all political parties to preserve, protect and enhance its sanctity.

He said in the past too parliamentary parties leaders were invited to deliberate upon matters of national importance. The participants of the meeting included Leader of the Opposition, Syed Khursheed Ahmad Shah; Former Prime Minister, Raja Parvez Ashraf; Farooq H. Naek, PPP; Sherry Rehman, PPPP; Dr Muhammad Farooq Sattar, MQM; Abdul Rashid Godil, MQM; Shafqat Mahmood, PTI; Dr Arif Alvi, PTI; Shireen Mazari, PTI; Maulana Fazlur Rehman, JUI(F); Pir Sadruddin Shah, PML (F); Senator Abdul Rauf, PKMAP; Sahibzada Tariqullah, JI; Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, ANP; Mian Iftikhar, Secretary General ANP; Muhammad Ijazul Haq, PML (Z); Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, QWP; Dr Ghazi Gulab Jamal, Fata; Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, NP; Ayub Malik, NP; Abbas Khan Afridi, FATA; Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Minister for Defence/Water & Power; Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Minister for Finance; Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Planning; Pervaiz Rashid, Minister for Information; Khawaja Saad Rafique, Minister for Railways; Lieutenant General (R) Abdul Qadir Baloch, Minister for SAFRON; Ms Anusha Rehman, MOS for IT; Khawaja Zaheer Ahmad, SAPM; Barrister Zafarullah Khan, SAPM; Dr Asif Kirmani, Political Secretary and Attorney General.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2015


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