The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) legislators submitted formal applications on Thursday for allocation of opposition seats in the National Assembly and the Senate secretariats for their parliamentarians. However, an official source in Parliament House said the applications were just to show the media because MQM members were already sitting on opposition benches in the National Assembly and no change in seats allocations would be made in the near future. But the official said the MQM senators could be allocated seats on opposition benches in the Senate provided there were any vacant.
The MQM’s deputy parliamentary leader in the National Assembly Haider Abbas Rizvi and Shagufta Sadiq submitted the application to the National Assembly Secretariat on behalf of their 25 members in the lower house, while Senator Tahir Mashhadi submitted the application to the Senate Secretariat for six of his colleagues.
Rizvi later told reporters that the MQM would strengthen the opposition benches by keeping a good relationship with all opposition parties.
“We are not satisfied with the government’s policies. We have endured a lot of taunts for switching back to the treasury. Now this chapter has been closed once and for all and our decision to sit in the opposition is final. We will form a robust opposition along with other parties,” he added. Rizvi said the MQM had always tried to maintain good relations with other political parties and accepted the mandate in 2008.
Senator Tahir said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) could not be trusted and his party’s decision to sit on the opposition benches was final.
National Assembly’s Acting Media Director Mehboob Ahmed Gurmani confirmed to Pakistan Today that the MQM’s application had been received. He said the MQM legislators were allocated seats on the opposition’s side as the treasury side was already packed.
He said since there was no possibility, the secretariat was already looking for options to even accommodate the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) members on the treasury side but there was no development yet.
He said lawmakers from various treasury parties, including the PML-Q, PPP-Sherpao, FATA, some independents including Usman Khan, Usman Tarakai and others were also sitting on the opposition side.
