Muttahida backs Haideri as Senate opposition leader
By: Iftikhar A. Khan
ISLAMABAD: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) declared on Friday its support for Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) as Leader of Opposition in the Senate.
The MQM and the Pakistan Muslim League-N recently agreed to work as joint opposition in both houses of parliament. The Muttahida’s decision to support Maulana Haideri may affect its relationship with the PML-N which believes its senator Ishaq Dar should have been declared opposition leader by Chairman Farooq Naek. MQM’s parliamentary leader Tahir Hussain Mashhadi submitted to the Senate Secretariat a document signed by six senators of his party, supporting Maulana Haideri.
According to an official, the JUI-F now has the support from 18 members of the house.
The Senate chairman had appointed Maulana Haideri, the secretary general of JUI-F, as Leader of Opposition on June 6. He had refused to accept members of the PML-Q’s Likeminded group as part of the opposition while assessing who commanded support of the majority in the opposition.
The appointment evoked a strong response from the PML-N, supported by Jamaat-i-Islami and the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, forcing the chairman to review the decision.
He reserved his decision a day before the last session of the house was prorogued and is likely to announce it during the session commencing on July 21.
Senator Mashhadi said his party’ decision to support Maulana Haideri would not affect its relations with the PML-N. “We will sit with them on the opposition benches in both houses of parliament and continue to cooperate with them.”
He said the JUI-F was the largest opposition party in the Senate. He said the MQM had sought allocation of seats on opposition benches.
Mr Mashhadi said the Senate Secretariat had asked him who the MQM would support as leader of opposition. “We support the sitting leader of the opposition” was his reply, he added.
He described the controversy over the issue as a matter between the PML-N and JUI-F.
Senator Pervaiz Rasheed of the PML-N said the MQM and his party had agreed on a four-point agenda for working as joint opposition. He said the two parties had jointly requisitioned sessions of the National Assembly and Senate to discuss the issues of alleged rigging in AJK elections, targeted killings in Karachi, the energy crisis, the alleged official interference in the NICL scam investigation and refusal to accept superior courts’ decisions.
He said the objection against the appointment of Maulana Haideri had been raised by the PML-N before it joined hands with the MQM. “Our concern has nothing to do with the MQM.”
“We want a clear ruling from the chairman on who is the leader of the opposition because it will set precedence,” he said.
Source: Dawn
Date:7/16/2011
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