• Insiders say other senators agree in principle, but require nod from their party leadership
• With JI senator as sole supporter, PPP short of three signatures for Gaza session

ISLAMABAD: Despite the controversial rejection of two successive requisitions to summon the Senate session in the recent past, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has been making efforts for the past five days to seek required support for the requisition of a Senate session — this time to discuss the unfolding situation in Gaza.

So far, its efforts have failed to yield the required number of signatures. The support of 26 members is required for the requisition and the PPP so far has 23 signatures, including of the JI lawmaker. Informed sources told Dawn that the PPP was short of just three signatures to be able to do what it failed to do twice.

Mushtaq Ahmed of Jamaat-i-Islami is the only senator from a party other than the PPP to have signed the requisition. They said two senators from Awami National Party (ANP), who withdrew their signatures last time, conveyed to the PPP that they “have talked to their leadership and have expressed readiness to sign the requisition”, which will take the number of 25 — just one short of the 26 required to request a session.

Contacts to gain support

Sources in the PPP said this time they wanted to take the number to 30-plus to avoid any unpleasant scenario. They said contacts were being made with senators belonging to different political parties, who agreed to the idea of a Senate session in principle but required a nod from the party leadership.

Asked if it was possible to get more than 30 signatures, a source said the number could go up to 40 if the PTI joined the move. He disclosed that the matter had already been discussed with PTI, which also required a go-ahead from the top leadership before its senators signed the requisition.

The last session of the Senate was held on Aug 9 — days before the caretakers came in. Two recent attempts by the PPP to summon the session failed due to a behind-the-scenes role allegedly played by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.

The Senate Secretariat, in an unprecedented move last month, had rejected a requisition of the house to discuss the Jaranwala violence targeting the Christian community.

The reason for the rejection, which left many red-faced, has been said to be the “unmatched signatures” of some of the 27 members who signed the requisition, raising questions on the secretariat’s authority to verify signatures without approaching the members concerned.

‘Sabotage by Sanjrani’

The five PPP senators whose signatures allegedly did “not match with their signatures on the roll of the members” were identified by the Senate secretariat as Farooq H. Naek, Mian Raza Rabbani, Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan, Rubina Khalid and Shamim Afridi. In addition, the signature of Senator Muhammad Akram was also declared mismatched. The PPP had regretted that none of these six senators had been called by the Senate Secretariat for verification.

Another requisition was submitted on Sept 18, but this attempt also failed after five of the six senators from parties other than the PPP, according to the Senate Secretariat withdrew their signatures from the requisition aimed to discuss “skyrocketing inflation and inflated electricity bills causing grave concern and unrest among the general public”.

The PPP questioned the “dubious behind-the-scenes activities” and sought an official response from Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani to its communication and disclosure of the names of those who have retracted their signatures.

The five members who reportedly withdrew their signatures after being grilled by their respective leaderships, were Saadia Abbasi (PML-N), Mohammad Qasim (BNP-Mengal), Abida Azeem (PkMAP), Haji Hidayat Ullah, and Umer Farooq (ANP). In all, 28 senators had signed the requisition, and the withdrawal of signatures by five members reduced the number to 23.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2023