Spread over two sittings, the Senate on Tuesday discussed political situation in the country with opposition sticking to its guns that the Musharraf-Aziz combine has no other agenda than regime survival. Opposition senators dominated the debate, but the fight back by treasury benches, with women members leading the charge, was no less impressive. Of course, rhetoric abounded in speeches from both the sides, barring perhaps Mushahid Hussain Syed's down to earth exposition, mainly focussing on the Balochistan situation. But before we get into the rough and tumble of the Senate debate, one would like to break the news that Asif Ali Zardari is reaching here on Wednesday and would meet pressmen.
No doubt he is big news, yet. But how long... Given latest fence-mending in the ARD, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain's challenge to scene-setters in Rawalpindi and opposition senators' unforgiving assault on what they branded Centre-planned Punjab government's "reign of state terrorism".
Even at this time when roses are in abundance in the capital no big garlands await Zardari, and if there were a few souls to do that they have been taken care of. Scores of PPP workers have been detained. Mind you, from now on violation of Section 144 earns the offender the penalty prescribed for terrorism.
The Senate opened on a note of peace and harmony. Both the sides decided to suspend the question hour and consigned the four pending breach of privilege motions to relevant committees so that the debate on the political situation in the country could begin as soon as possible.
Amanullah Kinrani was the first and his was a spine-chilling account of the government's failures in Balochistan.
"Ours is a voluntary relationship with the federation, not the one that Soviet Union had with its states... but while we want to strengthen the federation we are being treated a conquered land. We are nobody's estate".
Kinrani was bitter and incisive, demanding withdrawal of forces and an end to the concurrent list with the centre having only defence, foreign affairs and currency.
As for Gwadar, he said 51 percent of its share should go to locals. "We won't let Gwadar become another Karachi".
Next speaker, Professor Ghafoor Ahmad, sharply focussed on Karachi warning, "if things did not improve the security of Pakistan would come under threat." His recommendation was that the chair should constitute a committee that should look into the Karachi situation.
He also criticized President Musharraf for "backing out" from his commitment with the MMA, and opined if India is sincere it should pull out forces from occupied Kashmir and stop atrocities against Kashmiris.
But MQM's Babar Ghuri came hard on MMA leaders charging that it was the Jamaat-e-Islami that introduced the weapon culture in universities.
However, the star speaker was Sanaullah Baloch. One may not agree with his thesis but one cannot help admire his presentation of the cause of his province.
The so-called foreign hand in Balochistan is the hand of bureaucrats from other provinces, he opined, adding these officials are the main source of mischief in Balochistan.
His tone is of Che Guevara, his idiom of a revolution and the history that he narrates is of separation of East Pakistan.
As walkout has become a part of the opposition's planning, opposition leader Raza Rabbani, on a point of order, stood up to charge that "Pakistan has become a police state", and led the opposition out of the house on a walkout.
That was an interesting move: that the opposition had called the session and maintaining its quorum was its responsibility.
To embarrass the opposition, the government whip, Kamil Ali Agha, too, announced walkout - it is another matter that he set up an unhealthy tradition.
Mushahid Hussain informed the house that the Shujaat Committee on Balochistan will meet on May 2, but its members from Balochistan said they would not attend it.
Another interesting development was the maiden speech in the Senate by newly elected senator Qari Muhammad Abdullah.
His advice was members should hear each other with patience, and to the federal government, he counseled that it should adopt strategies followed by the NWFP government if the centre is serious in overcoming its difficulties.
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