ISLAMABAD: Five opposition parties today (Monday) demanded allotment of separate opposition benches in the upper house of Parliament in the first formal session.
The five opposition parties, who had earlier decided to constitute an independent group in the House consisting of 27 members, are Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, National Party and BNP (Mengal).
The group is being led by the PML-N designated opposition leader Senator Azam Nazir Tarrar. Speaking on the Senate floor, Senator Tarrar said, “We should be allotted separate opposition benches and the hidden cameras in the Senate elections should be investigated.”
Tarrar said he was saddened by the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition. “27 senators from five parties have formed a separate opposition group. We will play a positive and constructive role.
On the occasion, Senators supporting Opposition leader Yousaf Raza Gillani protested Tarrar’s remarks. Government members, too, protested when senators from the Balochistan Awami Party were presented with gifts.
The House met today after the election of new senators on March 3, the Senate chairman and deputy chairman on March 12 and notification of Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Yousaf Raza Gillani on March 26.
Earlier on Friday, five opposition parties, including the PML-N, agreed to form a separate bloc of 27 opposition senators in the upper house of parliament, deepening the rift between major opposition parties – the PML-N and the PPP.
Differences emerged between the parties – both part of anti-government alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement – after the PPP appointed its stalwart Yusuf Raza Gilani as Senate’s opposition leader, apparently in violation of what had earlier been agreed upon in a PDM meeting.
