News Desk |
The opposition parties are still reeling from the shock defeat handed out to them in the no-confidence motion against Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on Thursday by 14 defecting Senators.
Responses to the surprise defeat have been of all sorts. From Opposition candidate Hasil Bizenjo claiming that the vote was engineered by DG ISI Lt. General Faiz Hameed to People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari asking Senate Chairman Sanjrani to step down himself as he had lost all moral authority.
Read more: Hasil Bizenjo alleges DG ISI engineered Senate vote
However, as Bizenjo’s remarks raised the temperature and made headlines PMLN leader Ahsan Iqbal made a bizarre claim. He said that no Pakistani institution could have made such a move and he suspected that India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) might have been involved.
Senator Bizenjo also toned down his criticism by saying that a ‘dangerous game’ had been played with democracy and the constitution.
PMLN leader Shahbaz Sharif vowed in a party meeting post the defeat that the Senators who had brought the defeat would be named.
Confident of getting 64 votes for their no-confidence motion, the opposition in the Senate only managed to get 50 votes. The required number of votes to get the motion passed and Chairman Sanjrani removed was 53 in a house of 105.
It was announced that 5 votes had been rejected, which means that 9 senators cast their vote in favor of Mr. Sanjrani despite belonging the opposition. It is also being speculated that the disqualified votes were deliberately cast in a way to make them unacceptable.
Maryam Nawaz had in a tweet said that she was unable to name and shame the members.
I can’t. https://t.co/AeYYcv5FB4
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) August 1, 2019
But she had also called for the 14-backstabbers to be cast out.
14 betrayers & backstabbed. Should be identified, named, shamed & sorted out. https://t.co/frNFpwuBup
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) August 1, 2019
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has constituted a fact finding committee to find who defected. All PPP Senators have handed their resignations to the Chairman.
read more: Sanjrani will remain Chairman, big blow to Maryam & Bilawal
PMLN leader Shehbaz Sharif has also said “The opposition will come together to prepare an action plan over the matter,” he said.
How Imran Khan dealt with defectors
In the Senate elections in 2018 the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf under Imran Khan got less votes than expected.
Khan immediately announced that the party had an idea of the 20 MPAs who voted against the party. The MPAs were asked to appear before a party inquiry commission.
After they failed to satisfy the party leadership, Imran Khan announced their names in a live TV press conference and cast them out of the party.
Will the current opposition be able to do what Imran Khan did in the last Senate election?
