Shibli denies PM’s snubbing to those who met Fazl

ISLAMABAD: Leader of the House in the Senate Syed Shibli Faraz Sunday contradicted a statement made by Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad that Prime Minister Imran Khan had ‘snubbed’ those, who recently met JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Talking to The News here, Senator Shibli, who is son of leading poet late Ahmad Faraz, said that someone else had talked about this (meeting) and the prime minister had ignored it completely. “Sh. Sahab is in the habit of posing, as if he knows all and has knowledge about everything. He was even not present in that meeting and obviously is also from another party and not from PTI,” he maintained. The railways minister had spoken about the issue during his news conference in Lahore.

He defended their recent contacts with various leaders in the backdrop of the no-trust motion against Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, saying what they were foreseeing was not good for the Parliament and the Senate in particular.

Senator Shibli said they tried to convince the opposition leadership that the no-trust resolution be withdrawn in larger interest of the constitutional institution, as otherwise, things could lead to destabilisation. “The Upper House of the Parliament has been functioning for decades and never witnessed the situation, which it finds itself presently in…you got elected a chairman and now want the same to bow out without any logical reason,” he noted.

PTI senator, who represents the prime minister in the Senate, pointed out that it was not a joke to seek removal of a chairman, who had been neutral and at times even went against the cabinet members. He added that the trend of no-trust motion would not end here and one might see such sorry scenes after every few months.

When his attention was drawn to Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s claim that PTI delegation and Balochistan chief minister had sought an NRO for prime minister and Sanjrani, he played it down vehemently and questioned, “How a person, who is unable to contest a UC election, can give an NRO to anyone. By talking this way, JUI-F chief has tried to raise his political stature”.

Asked was there any possibility of Senate Chairman tendering resignation before August 01, when the related resolutions against him and Deputy Chairman Salim Mandviwalla were to be taken up, he said the Senate chairman to his latest information, would fight till the end.

The president has summoned the Senate to meet on August 01 for dealing with the no-trust resolutions against both Sanjrani and Mandviwalla.

“The present situation has been created by the opposition parties and not by the ruling party and its allies and the history will record it accordingly. We are aware of the number game, yet we will deal with it in a democratic way,” he said when his attention was drawn to the apparently insurmountable numerical edge the combined enjoys in the 104-member House with at least 66 senators in its camp, whereas support of 53 senators is needed for smooth passage of the no-trust motion.

Sanjrani was elected as independent senator and then got elected as Senate chairman, mainly due to support of Pakistan People’s Party and PTI.