After playing its cards astutely for the slot of chairman Senate, the Pakistan People’s Party on Wednesday moved to finalise its alignment in the Upper House of Parliament.
The party has decided to continue with Aitzaz Ahsan as the leader of the opposition in the Senate, while Senator Saeed Ghani, a relatively younger face for the party, will be its chief whip.
Though PPP’s strength shrunk in terms of numbers in the Upper House, it remains the largest party in the Senate. The PPP had 40 senators, 21 of whom retired on Wednesday. It grabbed eight seats in the March 5 polls — seven from Sindh and one from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A senator elected independently from Balochistan has also joined PPP, taking its strength to 28.
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has 26 seats of in the 104-member House. The delayed approach and failure to muster the support of smaller parties has already cost the ruling party key offices of the chairman and deputy chairman Senate.
The move by the PPP has left little room for other parties to manoeuvre, and is likely to be accepted by other opposition parties.
The chairman Senate, who will be formally elected on Thursday, will appoint the leader of the opposition if he feels that the candidate for the slot enjoys support of the majority of the opposition.
Given the numbers in the House, opposition groups will be the driving seat in the Upper House for the next three years.
