PPP warns government against bid to paralyse Senate.

Byline: Iftikhar A. Khan

ISLAMABAD -- The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Thursday warned the government against what it called an attempt to paralyse the Senate and demanded immediate summoning of the upper house of parliament to discuss important developments taking place in the country, region and beyond.

'The Senate of Pakistan has not met for 108 days in any formal, full session. This is an unprecedented gap in the history of Pakistan's upper house of parliament, which represents in equal measure the interests of the federation. The only session the Senate has had in so many days was on a requisition placed by the joint opposition, and in that too, no government business or resolution or instrument of the Senate was allowed on the agenda,' PPP parliamentary leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman said while talking to reporters.

She pointed out that as per Article 61 of the Constitution, the Senate was required to meet for not less than 110 days in a parliamentary year. 'The procedure to call such sessions as per a calendar issued by the Secretariat is entirely the government's responsibility and duty. Right now the lapse in sessions is so great that the government is already setting new precedents for being in violation of the constitution,' added the senator.

Ms Rehman said several crises had hit Pakistan in these 108 days but the government as part of a deliberate strategy had decided to paralyse parliament, particularly the...