Ishaq Dar appointed leader of the House in Senate

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was appointed as leader of the House in the Senate on Tuesday, according to a notification issued by the Senate Secretariat.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is also the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), appointed Dar to the post.

“Dar will act as leader of the House on behalf of the Prime Minister to represent Government and to regulate Government business in the Senate with effect from April 9, 2024,” said the notification.

Earlier in the day, Mohammad Ishaq Dar as Presiding Officer in Senate session on Tuesday administered oath to the newly elected 41 members of the upper house of the Parliament.

Two newly elected senators Faisal Vawda and Maulana Abdul Wasay did not turn to attend the oath-taking proceedings.

Later the newly elected senators signed the roll of members.

Some prominent senators who took oath were Senator Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, Musadik Masood Malik, Muhammad Talal, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi, Pervaiz Rashid, Ahad Cheema, Nasir Mehmmod Butt, Anusha Rehman, Abdul Qadoos Bizenjo, Aimal Wali Khan,  Raja Nasir Abbas, Hamid Khan, Shahzeeb Durrani, Qurat ul Ain Marri, Rana Mehmoodul Hassan, Ashraf Ali Jatoi, Rubina Qaimkhani and others.

Earlier speaking in the House, PTI Senator Ali Zafar demanded the Chair to postpone the elections for the offices of Chairman and Deputy Chairman till Senate elections were held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Citing Article 60 of the constitution, he said that the House was incomplete with senate elections in KPK. He said that the PTI would not take part in the Senate elections till then.

Senator Mohsin Aziz of PTI said that under Article 60 of the Constitution, no elections for the seats of Chairman and Deputy Chairman could be held until the house was in order or complete. However, there is no representation of KPK in the House so therefore any elections held would be unlawful, void, and unconstitutional.

However, Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar on Tuesday clarified that the House could not remain dysfunctional without its members. Citing Article 60, he said, “ After the Senate has been duly constituted, it shall, at its first meeting and to the exclusion of any other business, elect from amongst its members a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman and, so often as the office of Chairman or Deputy Chairman becomes vacant, the Senate shall elect another member as Chairman or, as the case may be, Deputy Chairman”.  KPK senate elections have not been postponed forced majeure which means under unavoidable circumstances like disasters or extreme events. So, therefore, the objection is invalid to postpone the Senate Chairman and Deputy Chairman elections.

Presiding Officer Ishaq Dar said in the light of the explanation of the Law Minister with reference to the constitution provision, the objection is overruled. He requested the newly elected members to rise from their seats and take the oath.