The fresh session of Senate set to start from Monday will be a 'litmus test' for ARD's in-house unity in the wake of PML (N) last week announcement of disassociation from the Alliance activities against Pakistan Peoples Party reported inclination towards rulers. "Of course, this session will test ARD's unity in the house," briskly remarked an alliance's senator when asked to comment on the 'fast emerging and rapidly widening' gulf between the two parties.
It is being anticipated that it would be cleared during the Senate session whether ARD remains a combined force against what its members' term a military dictatorship in the country or splits without taking its original agenda to a logical conclusion.
The way senators from both sides ie PPPP and PML (N) take up issues particularly against the policies of the present government would indicate whether they adopt a joint strategy or toe their respective party lines.
MAULANA SAMI ISSUE: The other alliance, Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), is set to raise its leader Maulana Samiul Haq's last week snubbing in Belgium. The members of European Parliament refused to meet Senate Foreign Relations Committee of which Maulana was a part. The EU MPs dubbed him as a fundamentalist.
The MMA has already took cognisance of the matter in the National Assembly session prorogued on Thursday, but did not press it when the government assured it would lodge protest against the move.
PPPP WORKERS' DETENTION: PPPP will record its protest against the detention of what it claimed thousands of its workers at the occasion of Zardari's arrival on April 16.
The opposition parties will also raise a host of other issues ranging from inflation, unemployment, and faulty oil price-determination mechanism to concern over the joint statement issued during Musharraf's recent visit to India.
ARD received a bitter setback on Thursday when PML (N), one of its two major components, announced not to attend any of its meetings till a final decision on whether to remain alliance's part or not; expected some time this week.