This is apropos a Business Recorder news item “PDM decides to ‘investigate’ Gilani’s defeat” carried by the newspaper on Sunday. According to it, “Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM’s) senior leadership including former premier and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman have decided to investigate the circumstances under which its joint candidate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani lost the election of chairman Senate.”

In my view, however, the PDM leadership is required to investigate the defeat of its candidate Maulana Ghafoor Haideri against government-backed candidate Mirza Mohammad Afridi for the seat of Senate deputy chairman. Secret ballot mode has helped the government pay the PDM in the same coin. Advocacy efforts for replacing secret ballot with open ballot in Senate election are now gaining ground. It is about time both PPP and PML-N gave up their opposition to the open ballot mode in Senate elections.

TEHSIN RAZA (ISLAMABAD)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021