A split in the ranks of PML-Q dissident senators is likely to pave the way for PML-N leader Ishaq Dar clinching the coveted slot of leader of the opposition in the Senate, as the party has already won the opposition leader’s slot in the lower House. At least four candidates have joined the race for the slot, which fell vacant due to the resignation of PML-Q leader Wasim Sajjad after his party joined the coalition government.
A source told Pakistan Today that the tussle between PML-Q leaders Senator Tariq Azeem and Salim Saifullah Khan would assist the PML-N candidate to win the seat of the Senate opposition leader, as Azeem was likely to support Dar for the slot. JUI-F Secretary General Abdul Ghafoor Haideri is also in the run. As many as 12 senators attended a dinner hosted by Salim Saifullah Khan late on Wednesday, but no consensus could be evolved on how to proceed to get the group an independent status.
Interestingly, all three sides – the PML-Q dissidents, JUI-F and PML-N claim the support of 13 senators. However, as the total number of opposition members is 36, it is quite impossible far all to have the backing of 13 members. The source said both groups of the PML-Q dissidents had the support of nine senators, while the position of three more senators, Mohammed Ali Durrani, Seemen Siddiqui and Nilofar Bakhtiyar was yet to be ascertained.
The source said Azeem and Saifullah were making hectic efforts to win support of a majority of Q leaguers to decide who would lead the group. Saifullah claims the support of five senators, already a part of the Likeminded group that includes Saifullah, Haroon Akhtar, Ghaffar Qureshi, and Fauzia Fakharuz Zaman. Senator Tariq Azeem claims the support of Jamal Khan Leghari, Gulshan Saeed, Javed Ali Shah, and Naeem Hussain Chattha.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Azeem said his party colleagues were holding a “consensus building exercise”, as the independent group and the Likeminded group were weighing their options. He said apart from his five comrades, his group also had the support of two more senators which would take the tally of his supporters to seven. “I can’t share the names of my supporters right now,” he said.
However, a source said he was referring to Senator Mohammed Ali Durrani and Nilofar Bakhtiyar, who are likely to sit on the opposition benches.
On the other hand, Ishaq Dar has the support of his six PML-N colleagues and the purported support of three Jamat-e-Islami senators – a rare achievement as the JI leadership is opposing the PML-N leadership publicly. He also claims being backed by three independent senators, although the claim is yet to be proven. But the party with most chances to take the slot is the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), whose nominee Haideri has the support of 13 JUI-F senators, while behind-the-scenes efforts have been initiated to win support of other independent senators.
