PPP resents decision not to call Senate session

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party Thursday expressed disappointment with the Senate Secretariat’s decision not to call a session of the upper house ofparliament to discuss the recent Jaranwala incident.

Twenty-seven senators had submitted a signed requisition notice to the Senate Secretariat on September 1 under Clause 3 of Article 54, read with Article 61 of the Constitution. The notice was submitted by PPP Senator Shahadat Awan.

However, five days later, in a letter dated September 6, the Senate Secretariat said the signatures of five PPP senators on the requisition motion “do not match with their signatures on the Roll of the Members” and, therefore, the “requisition does not fulfill the requirements for summoning of the Senate session by the honorable chairman Senate”.

The five PPP senators whose signatures allegedly did “not match with their signatures on the Roll of the Members” were identified as Farooq H Naek, Mian Raza Rabbani, Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan, Rubina Khalid and Shamim Afridi.

In addition, the signatures of Senator Muhammad Akram were also declared incorrect.

Expressing dismay, the PPPP Secretary General and President of the Human Rights Cell, Farhatullah Babar, said it was surprising that the Senate Secretariat did not call any of those six senators to confirm whether they had signed the requisition notice or not and instead unilaterally concluded that the signatures did not match.

“It is unprecedented, inexplicable and betrays more than meets the eye. It appears that some elements for reasons best known to them did not want to discuss the shameful Jaranwala mayhem marked by desecration of churches and loot and plunder of Christians’ homes and properties,” he said.

He said, however, small and insignificant it may appear to be, a requisition notice nonetheless may be viewed as a small bid by the House to assert itself by raising issues of national importance.

“However, when the custodian of the House also appears to be scuttling such a small move and throws the requisition notice into the dustbin, hopelessness increases” he said.