- Will make opposition effective, government answerable
The run-up to the much anticipated March 3 Senate elections was marred by some controversy, while the result, election of a little known Baloch politician as chairman, surprised pundits and politicians, with the possible exception of wily Asif Zardari. PML-N’s feint of backing Raza Rabbani, the bad blood created within PPP by Zardari’s public rejection of Rabbani’s repeat nomination, absconding Ishaq Dar’s shock election, and rumours of fabulous sums changing hands in buying votes, added to the layman’s confusion. But Zardari had the last laugh, dashing, along with PTI, the PML-N candidates’ hopes, and also bagging the deputy chair. Now, in PPP’s Thursday triumph over PTI for Senate leader of the opposition, fittingly, another foreign-educated, suave, politically savvy, experienced and popular parliamentarian, Sherry Rehman, has replaced stalwart Aitzaz Ahsan in this demanding job, with the added advantage (in these times), of the gender equality and women empowerment aspects, and politically correct ‘firsts’ for women.
She becomes the first lady elected as opposition leader in the Senate, just as Benazir Bhutto was the first prime minister of a Muslim-majority country, Hina Rabbani Khar, its first and youngest, foreign minister, incumbent Tehmina Janjua the first foreign secretary and Abida Hussain first women ambassador to the USA, replaced by Maleeha Lodhi. The PTI, which has displayed a consistently poor record of selecting the right electoral candidates, miscalculated badly on this occasion too as it’s less than confidant choice, Azam Swati, vainly tried to get Rehman disqualified on technical grounds, eventually losing by 34 votes to 19. Her position as opposition mouthpiece will be tough and thankless, involving uniting disparate elements from hostile parties on a single platform in order to pose a meaningful and constructive challenge to government’s ham-handed or contentious policies, and prevent person-specific legislation from being bulldosed in the Upper House. She would have to flatter, coax, persuade, show firmness, and maintain parliamentary decorum among an undisciplined group, as the Upper House is supposed to be the repository of experience, expertise and maturity, if not actually wisdom, in our peculiar environment. Flexibility, concessions, and healthy give-and-take, should be the watchwords of the multi-talented ‘woman for all seasons’.
