Raza Rabbani elected as Opposition Leader in Pakistan Senate
Aziz Malik 'Pakistan Times' Federal Bureau Chief

ISLAMABAD: The combined opposition in the Senate has elected Mian Raza Rabbani - a veteran leader of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) - as its leader in the Upper House.

The unanimous election of opposition leader in the House is a good omen, said Chairman Mohammadmian Soomro while congratulating Raza Rabbani.

He expressed the hope that Raza Rabbani would play a proactive role in further strengthening of the parliament.

Leader of the House, Wasim Sajjad also felicitated Raza Rabbani and hoped he would work with more dedication and play his role in the smooth functioning of the House.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Kamil Ali Agha said Raza Rabbani is a seasoned and experienced politician and welcomed his election as opposition leader.

Announcing his election as leader of opposition, Maulana Gul Naseeb said his election has been made in view of current scenario in the country and with support of all the opposition parties and their leaders.

Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi and Rahim Khan Mandokhel also congratulated Raza Rabbani.

Raza Rabbani thanked all the members and sought their cooperation so that he could perform his responsibilities efficiently.

An earlier report said that an ARD-MMA meeting, which took place at the chamber of Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rehman has developed consensus on the name of PPP-P leader Mian Raza Rabbani as the leader of opposition in the Senate.

The late night meeting between the two alliances started at 00.15 hours on Sunday night ended at 02:45 PST.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Mian Raza Rabbani, Raja Pervez Ashraf and Khurshid Shah of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarian represented the ARD while Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Hafiz Hussain Ahmed of the JUI-F led the MMA side.

The absence of PML-N and Jamat-e-Islami in the meeting was, however, conspicuous.

The ARD-MMA leaders agreed to accept the chairmanship of 10 standing committees of the Senate, which had been offered to them by the government. They are reported to have agreed on a formula.

The leadership of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy and the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal also developed an understanding that the political equilibrium should be kept in mind while deciding about the share of the parties in the standing committees.

They also agreed on the formation of a shadow cabinet against the cabinet of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, just like the one in the United Kingdom, sources privy to the meeting said.

The opposition leaders also discussed the performance of the opposition members in both Houses of the Parliament and expressed satisfaction over their conduct.●