A day after the joint opposition faced surprising defeat at the hands of treasury benches in the Upper House of the Parliament and failed to remove Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani from the office through a no-confidence motion, Sanjrani met Prime Minister Imran Khan and other government personalities who congratulated him on his success. The chairman Senate called on the Premier at the Prime Minister's Office. Leader of the House in Senate Shibli Faraz, Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak and Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, the presiding officer of Senate's Thursday session, were present in the meeting.
"The Prime Minister hoped that the chairman Senate would effectively perform his duties to ensure smooth running of the business of the house, the way he had been doing in the past," a statement from the PM's Office quoted Khan as saying during the meeting with Sanjrani. "The full confidence reposed by the senators on your leadership is a testimony of your leadership qualities," the PM was quoted in the statement as telling the chairman Senate.
Earlier on Thursday, soon after the Senate rejected the no-confidence motion against Sanjrani, the PM congratulated him, saying the House reposed confidence on him by "rejecting the opposition's conspiracy" for his removal. During a telephonic conversation, Khan reportedly said, "Well done Sanjrani, you've proved that Senate trusts you."
Separately, senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Khan Tareen Friday called on Sanjrani at the Senate Secretariat to congratulate the chairman Senate on his success against the no-confidence motion. Some senior opposition members have accused Tareen of being instrumental in winning the support of opposition senators in favour of Sanjrani to foil the no-confidence motion. Tareen is regarded as one of the most trusted confidantes of PM Khan and is believed to be having a strong say in the relevant matters involving the government and politics.
After the opposition's unexpected defeat in the Senate on Thursday, memes and jokes are circulating on social media discussing Tareen's alleged role in foiling the no-confidence motion against Sanjrani. The PTI supporters are praising Tareen for his contributions to the party and being on the forefront in dealing with different challenges the PM Khan, his party and government face from time to time. However, the critics slam Tareen's reported involvement in government affairs in the backdrop of his disqualification by the Supreme Court from holding any public office.
Sanjrani on Thursday narrowly survived a no-confidence motion, just by three votes, in what comes as major setback to the joint opposition that had moved the motion, the one-and-only in Pakistan's legislative history. Background discussions with senior leaders of PML-N and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) suggest that both parties are accusing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Inaf's (PTI's) federal government of applying "coercive tactics as well as bribe" to foil the no-confidence motion against Sanjrani.
"It is like the treasury benches followed a carrot and stick policy - bribe and intimidation have gone hand in hand. And it won't be surprising if some of our party colleagues are involved in defections. Otherwise, it is just not possible that a resolution that was supported by 64 senators, eventually ended up with only 50 votes," a PML-N leader, requesting not to be named, told a select group of reporters outside the Parliament House on Thursday.