ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Wednesday maintained that the Senate chairman and deputy chairman elections could be held without oath-taking by the members of KP Assembly on special seats and without election of 11 Senate members from the province. The province is being represented by the sitting members in the upper house of parliament but their strength isn’t equal to the other three provinces.
Gilani has announced to contest the election for the Senate chairman since his party has designated him as its candidate. A formal announcement in this regard would be made later.
He was talking to the media at a traditional Iftar/dinner arranged by Luqman Afzal Monal here.
Gilani advised the KP government and provincial assembly speaker to give up their stubborn attitude and facilitate the oath-taking of members on the special seats.
Gilani recalled that he had won the Senate chairman election in 2021 but he was defeated when the presiding officer rejected his seven votes since the stamp was printed on his name in the ballot paper.
To a question, the PPP leader said his party had given him go-ahead for contesting the Senate chairman election. To a query about the 11 seats of the Senate from KP, he said the provincial government and speaker were defying the Constitution by declining the administration of oath to members who were successful on the special seats.
They are disobeying the orders of five-member bench’s unanimous verdict in the oath-taking case of members of special seats, he said.
The Iftar/dinner was also attended by federal secretary Information and Broadcasting Shaheera Shahid, Foreign Secretary Dr. Syrus Sajjad Qazi, former naval chief admiral Asif Sandheela, Federal Secretary Establishment Inamullah Dhareejo, Sweet Home chief Zumurrad Khan, Ahmad Raza Kasuri, former foreign secretary Salman Bashir, Pakistan’s former ambassador in Saudi Arabia Naeem, Federal Secretary Economic Affairs Awais Manzoor Sumra and former DG FIA Mohsin Butt.
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