ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Dr Sania Nishtar has quit her legislative membership against the apparent backdrop of her appointment, months back, as chief of a global vaccination body.

In this context, she has submitted her resignation to the Senate Secretariat, it is learnt.

Sania Nishtar was not available to comment on the reports regarding her resignation till this report was filed Wednesday night.

Chairman Senate Yousaf Raza Gilani would decide on the PTI senator’s resignation after verifying the authenticity of the resignation letter from her, a source in the Senate Secretariat told Business Recorder.

Dr Nishtar was elected to the Senate from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on PTI ticket in March 2021 Senate elections.

She served as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety (PASS), and Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) when Imran Khan was the PM.

Nishtar is widely credited for the launch of the iconic Ehsaas Programme, a multifaceted financial support initiative, for the downtrodden segments of the society.

This initiative was acknowledged worldwide for providing financial support to the needy during Covid period.

This March, Nishtar was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gavi, a global vaccine alliance, headquartered in Geneva.

According to its website, Gavi is an international organisation bringing together public and private sectors with the shared goal of saving lives and protecting people’s health by increasing equitable and sustainable use of vaccines.

Nishtar’s resignation implies that the number of vacant seats in Senate now reaches 12 with 84 of its 96 seats lying vacant. Of these seats, 11 seats remain vacant following the failure of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold the polls on these seats.

With Dr Nishtar’s resignation, the PTI seats in Senate have reduced from 18 to 17. However, keeping in view that PTI has vast majority in KP Assembly, the political party can grab the lion’s share if elections on 12 vacant Senate seats are held.

The delay in holding an election on a vacant Senate seat amounts to constitutional violation. Constitutionally, an election on a Senate needs to be held within a month after it falls vacant.

Article 224(5) of the Constitution of Pakistan reads, “When a seat in the Senate has become vacant, an election to fill the seat shall be held within thirty days from the occurrence of the vacancy.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024