FROM A RINGSIDE SEAT

The 18th session of the Senate of Pakistan opened on Friday evening in an atmosphere of deceptive calm. For good 85 minutes that the question hour lasted the Opposition was exceptionally co-operative. Its members put up a show of serious engagement as they asked all sorts of supplementary questions, and patiently heard the replies offered by the concerned ministers. No one could have imagined that in the very next few minutes the Opposition would be on its feet challenging the legality of the proceedings.
Before the house met the ruling parliamentary parties met for the normal caucus. The members were informed of the cruciality of keeping quorum, which has earned the government bad name.
It was all the more important for the first day of the session in which the first item for legislation was a bill, commonly called ISI recruitment bill as it seeks employment in the agency without the involvement of the Federal Public Service Commission. The National Assembly had passed the bill in its last session.
As soon as the bill was introduced, the Opposition pointed out that the house lacked quorum. But acting Chairman Khalil-ur-Rehman ignored it and continued with the proceedings.
At this, opposition's Anwar Baig stood up and vociferously protested what he called unlawful attitude of the chair. Then Raza Rabbani stood up and again pointed out that the house lacked quorum. By then some more government senators had come but the house was still without quorum.
"You deliberately allowed those proceedings even when the quorum had been pointed out", he shouted. But the chair remained adamant, but as Raza Rabbani said it more vehemently the chair ordered counting.
There were then 24 senators in the house. Leader of House, Wasim Sajjad said including the chair the government has the quorum, and the ISI bill was passed in two minutes.
As the opposition moved to the cafeteria to address a news conference, the government lost no time in disposing the rest of business. In just a few minutes it passed a bill, already adopted by the Lower House, that provides for medical aid and treatment of injured persons.
The next item, the Gwader Port Authority Amendment Bill, also passed by the National Assembly, was deferred because the Balochistan Committee members in their talks with provincial leaders had agreed to reconsider this bill. That brought the sitting to an abrupt adjournment for the next sitting.
Why the government cannot ensure quorum in the parliament is a mystery. Both the President and the Prime Minister have had repeatedly blew hot and cold over the treasury members' indifference toward the working of the parliament. But even then, the Senate lacked quorum on the very first day of its new session remains inexplicable.
Is it because the members see the new general elections on the horizon? Or, is it that the left-outs (from the cabinet expansion) have not yet been able to overcome their frustration? and they believe in 'after me, deluge'.
At the same time it is a matter of shame that two very important pieces of legislation were passed by the Senate without debate. If the Senate is not going to discuss and debate serious issues like these bills what else is it for.
The world over in parliaments the opposition is expected to oppose every thing and propose nothing. But that's for the opposition; it does not absolve the government members from looking into merits (and demerits) of the laws that are they are asked to pass.
The opposition's reaction was strong. The decision it took on the spot was that its members would not turn up at the lunch, Chairman Khalil-ur-Rehman has arranged for a foreign delegation on Sunday.
On the next working day that is Monday the United Opposition, the phrase Raza Rabbani used, would meet before the sitting of the house and decide its strategy for the remaining part of the session. No court would uphold the ISI bill that was passed when the house did not have the quorum, opined Raza Rabbani.
Professor Khursheed said the ISI bill was passed when the house was not in order, adding strangely enough it was said on the floor of the house that quorum is not necessary for the bill's passage. Asfandyar Wali was more blunt: "God knows what attraction this ISI Bill had for the treasury members that proceedings were bulldozed."
Given the political uncertainty, intensified by the unexpected release of Asif Ali Zardari, the Senate would have an orderly beginning was surprising. The question hour had gone on very well.
Health Minister Nasir boldly accepted that government's investment in the people's health is still far below than that in India and Sri Lanka, what to talk of the United States and other developed countries.
We spend only about 0.8 percent of the federal budget, as against India's 2 percent and Sri Lanka's 4 percent, but things are improving, he said. Another issue that flowed out of the question hour was the wheat situation.
The concerned minister presented an optimistic picture and the opposition took it in good stride.
The house will now meet on Monday evening, a day after the MMA rally in Karachi. By then there would be some indication of the direction in which the wind would blow, and whether this wind would have the potential to become a cyclone?