Leader of the House in Senate, Mian Raza Rabbani has said that the coalition government led by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has set a healthy tradition and shown that it respects the opposition in the Parliament.
In a press statement issued here on Friday, he said the coalition government placed no obstacle in the way of the Parliament in immediately nominating the leaders of the opposition in both the Houses.
"It will be recalled that the PML-Q government prevented the Speaker of the National Assembly from naming Makhdoom Amin Fahim, the leader of the majority of the members of the opposition in the National Assembly from becoming the leader of the opposition," the statement said. It took the then Speaker over one year in nominating Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman as the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, the statement pointed out.
Rabbani stated that the coalition government believed in the sovereignty of the Parliament and these nominations were the first step. "The government will enact appropriate legislation to correct the imbalance created by various Constitutional amendments which have placed fetters on the sovereignty of the Parliament."
He held the view that a federation like Pakistan can only be strengthened and national unity achieved if the Senate and the National Assembly along with the Provincial Assemblies are allowed to function in a democratic manner. The government is committed to ensure that democracy takes firm roots, constitutional institutions are made independent and strengthened and the will of the people reigns supreme, he assured.