Haideri declared opposition leader in Senate
By: Tanveer Ahmed
ISLAMABAD: As expected, Senate Chairman Farooq H Naek, on Tuesday, reaffirmed his earlier decision, and declared JUI-F’s Abdul Ghafoor Haideri leader of the opposition in Upper House of parliament and turned down candidature of PML-N’s Ishaq Dar for the slot.
Following month-long debate and lobbying on the part of the PML-N and JUI-F, the Senate chairman, in his detailed ruling, recognised JUI-F’s Abdul Ghafoor Haideri as leader of the opposition in Senate in terms of Rule 2 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Senate 1988.
The ruling suggests that Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar of PML-N has the support of 15 members of the House, whereas Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri of JUI-F enjoys the support and confidence of 25 senators.
The dispute over leader of the opposition in Senate raised its head at the start of May when PML-Q joined the PPP government at center and vacated the slot in the House, which it was holding because of its numerical strength.
The vacant seat of opposition leader triggered a tug of war between PML-N and JUI-F, with each claiming to be largest opposition party in the House.
However, just a day before the budget session, Naek ruled in favour of Abdul Ghafoor Haideri by declaring him leader of the opposition, which irked the PML-N and other opposition parties in the House.
Wrangling in the opposition ranks over the opposition leader disturbed usual business of the House during the entire budget session, as members consumed much of the time by speaking on the issue with PML-N and few smaller parties in opposition staging walkouts and boycotting proceedings of the session.
The ruling in favour of Abdul Ghafoor Haideri is also accompanied by suggestions from the Senate chairman to the Committee on Rules and Procedures to recommend a mechanism for defining the status of independent members, whether elected from
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) or settled areas/provinces, inter alia, providing for their right to propose a member for the position of leader of the opposition.
Source: Daily Times
Date:7/20/2011
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