What happened before Senate passed resolution on poll delay?

ISLAMABAD: Ahead of the upcoming general election scheduled for February 8, the upper house of Parliament passed a resolution on Friday, seeking to postpone the polls due to security concerns.

Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi and PML-N Senator Afnan Ullah Khan both expressed opposition to the non-binding resolution. The proposal, initiated by independent Senator Dilawar Khan, was put forth during a session with only 14 lawmakers in attendance. It is noteworthy that the Upper House of the Parliament comprises a total of 100 members.

Senior journalist Hamid Mir, who was present in the Parliament House, talked about the whole episode stating that before the resolution was adopted, a few senators gathered, most of them without knowing what was the resolution all about and what was in store.

Hamid Mir told Geo News said, “I was present in the Parliament House before the resolution was passed and all the senators who passed the resolution were present in the office of the Senate chairman until sometime before the resolution was passed. In this regard, I did not know that such a resolution was coming.”

He said that all the senators who supported the resolution were saying that the Senate election should not be postponed, but Senator Afnanullah was saying, “I think there is a conspiracy.”

Senate votes to delay February 8 polls, twice

Hamid Mir said that Prince Umar was telling that his papers have been approved and he was preparing for the election. Manzoor Kakar was also saying that he had started preparing for the election. While a member of the minority was sitting silently, the chairman of the senate went upstairs and the resolution was passed within no time.

“There were only 14 senators in the house, 12 of whom supported the resolution while Senator Afnanullah opposed the resolution. The senators who supported the resolution were from Balochistan and formerly FATA and all these senators belong to small political parties,” Hamid Mir said.

The senior analyst said that the people who got the resolution passed by the Senate were creating problems for themselves.

“Whoever passed the resolution has actually hatched a conspiracy, and they conveyed to the chief justice that “your words are not the final, if the elections are not held on time, then who will accept the orders of the chief justice?