–President Alvi summons session for taking up no-confidence motions against Senate chairman, deputy chief
–PML-F, BNP senators miss meeting called by PTI, allies to discuss strategy
ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has summoned the Senate session on August 1 for voting on the no-confidence resolutions against Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani and Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwala.
According to a notification issued by the Senate Secretariat, the president has called the session of the upper house of parliament “for taking up motions for leave to move resolutions for removal of (the) chairman and (the) deputy chairman Senate, in pursuance of the summary sent by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs”.
Meanwhile, 26 senators of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and allied parties met here on Monday to discuss their strategy for the upcoming session. The senators of Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) and Balochistan National Party (BNP) didn’t attend the meeting.
The meeting discussed the strategy to foil the opposition’s bid to dethrone Senate Chairman Sanjrani through no-confidence motion, while the strategy to make no-confidence motion against Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwala successful also came under discussion.
The meeting further devised the strategy for Tuesday’s Senate session.
Later, talking to media, PTI Senator Shibli Faraz said that the majority of opposition senators were angry with their leadership, adding that the opposition senators were their colleagues and they were in contact with them.
On July 9, opposition senators had submitted a resolution against Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani to the secretariat of the upper house with signatures of 38 opposition members. The government and coalition legislators hit back with a similar motion against the deputy chairman on July 12.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Raja Zafarul Haq has claimed to have ample number in Senate to de-seat its incumbent Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.
On the requisition of the opposition, the Senate chairman had already summoned a session on Tuesday, however, the government said that this gathering has been only convened to discuss the no-trust motions against the chairman and his deputy without any voting.