BY ABBAS KASSAR
Senate elections are taking place on Thursday 5th March 2015 when each provincial assembly will be electing 11 members of Senate on seats that had become vacant by those who had completed their constitutional period. The Senate of Pakistan was created in 1973 constitution during rule of Shaheed Bhutto. The main purpose of creation of Senate was to give equal representation to all federating units since the membership of National Assembly was based on population of each province. Thus equal provincial representation in Senate balances provincial equality in parliament and dispels doubts and apprehensions about deprivation and exploitation. In this way Senate helps promote national cohesion and harmony and alleviates fears of smaller provinces regarding domination by any one province on basis of majority in National Assembly.Senate is body that represents provinces and territories of country and promotes feelings of equality which is essential for growth of prosperity of the nation. We can say Senate has emerged as essential organ in estabilising federation of Pakistan.
PPP’s 8 Senators Abdul Qayoom Soomro, Gul Muhammad Lot, Islamddin Shaikh, Maula Bux Chandio, Saleem Mandviwala, Rehman Malik, Farooq Naik and Almas Parveen have retired and Party has given tickets and get elected other 8 in their places.
But if the representation of a particular province is not allowed in Senate.I mean if representation of citizens of that particular province is denied and people from other provinces are elected to a province other than their own then main purpose of Senate as constitutional organ to give feelings of equality to all federating units is jeopardised and feeling of deprivate can take place in that particular provnce from where people of other provinces are got elected to Senate.
Like other deprivations in services in federal departments and corporations, the feelings of deprivation and alienation prevailing in Sindh was to increase with the present state of election of Rehman Malik and Farooq Naik again from Sindh in place of Sindhi Senators. Both gentlemen may be blue eyed boys of party leadeship which has given them tickets from Sindh and one of them also elected unopposed but it has also violated the very sprit of creation of Senate.
In my opinion Rehman Malik and Farooq Naik are in no way more Sindh friendly than Maula Bux Chandio, Zahid Bhurgri, professor N.D.Khan, Nadeem Bhutto and Lal Bux Kalhoro who had applied for Senate ticket and were denied due to PPP leader Asif Zardari’s personal liking for Malik and Naik, both are also not permanent residents of Sindh and for pupose of getting them elected have registered their names in voters list. They are also not members of Pakistan Peoples Party except personal friends of Zardari. Such a move on part of PPP leadership can only cause set back to party popularity in Sindh where it has been limited to after 2013 elections losing ground in Punjab perhaps due to wrong policies of its leadership.
Pakistan Senate which was reprentated in past by Sindh through its worthy sons like Hazrat Pir saheb Pagaro,Mehran Khan Bijarani, Agha Ghulam Nabi Pathan, Qamarzaman Shah, Zulfiqar Jamote, J.A.Rahim, Kamal Azfar, Shaikh Ali Muhammad, Kazi Abdul Majeed Abid, Javed Jabbar, Ahmed Mian Soomro, Syed Abdullah Shah, Syed Qaim Ali Shah,Shah Nawaz Junejo,Dr. Khalid Soomro,Raza Rabbani,Taj Hyder and other towering personalities, will not prove of less importance with Rehman Malik and Farooq Naik the persons who cannot get elected from their native constituency as even councillors of Union Council. If such wrong policies of PPP continue then it might also lose whatever popularity it has been left in Sindh as due to bad governance in last more than 7 years PPP leadership and provincial government is already facing criticism from not only general public but also from within as we have seen in recen months alienation of Makhdoom Amin Fahim president of PPP Parliamentarian, Dr.Zulfiqar Mirza,Nawab Yousuf Talpur and other party leaders.
(Writer is senior journalist based in Hyderabad city of Sindh.He is General Secretary Hyderabad Union of Journalists,member Governing Body Hyderabad Press Club,member European Journalism Center and member Writers International. Presently working for daily Messenger Pakistan,he can be approached at kassarabbas@lycos.com;kassarabbas@gmail.com) contact:03453585137