Secretariat of the Upper House of the parliament has objected to the opposition’s requisition in wake of the no-trust motion against Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjarani, a private media outlet reported Saturday.
According to reports, action on the resolution has, for now, been put on halt and the Senate session is likely to be delayed further.
In its letter to the opposition, the secretariat said that two requisitions were submitted with signatures of the same members, which was against the rules. It also asked the opposition as to which requisition does it want to be processed first.
“No action will be taken until an answer is filed,” the letter stated.
Meanwhile, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Raja Zafarul Haq have rejected the objections.
In a statement issued later in the day, Sherry maintained that the opposition had only submitted one requisition, while the second was the no-confidence motion against the chairman.
Haq, on the other hand, said that three documents were submitted, which included a no-confidence notice, the no-trust motion and a requisition to summon a session of the Upper House.
NO-TRUST MOTION:
The joint opposition on Tuesday had submitted in the Senate a resolution against incumbent Chairman Sanjrani in a bid to oust him. It had also urged for a requisition of the Upper House session at the earliest.
The opposition is in a comfortable numerical position to turn the tables on the ruling coalition if it goes ahead with its decision to vote out Sanjrani. As per the calculations, the opposition parties, in the 103-member House, enjoy the support of 61 senators while the governing alliance has the backing of 40 members.
The chairman can be removed by the majority of the total membership. Thus, the support of at least 52 senators will be required to carry the no-confidence motion.