Former PM Yousuf Raza Gilani to face Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh in Islamabad
Islamabad … News Time
Yousuf Raza Gilani, if you run in the Senate elections from Islamabad, it will be good not only for the party but also for the entire opposition. We are sure that some people in the government will also vote for you, as a result you will become a senator. If you become a senator, then it is possible that you will also be the candidate for the chairmanship of the Senate from the opposition. Young PPP senator Mustafa Nawaz spoke to former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on the phone and expressed the wish of party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. PPP senior leader Yousuf Raza Gilani, after much deliberation and consultation with close associates, agreed to contest the Senate elections from Islamabad. Meanwhile, Maryam Nawaz was also taken into confidence through prominent PML-N leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Pervez Rashid. This time, Yousuf Raza Gilani was not contesting the Senate elections but his sons Haider Gilani and Qasim Gilani were eyeing the Senate seat from Punjab. The PPP’s decision to field Yousuf Raza Gilani from Islamabad for the Senate elections changed the whole scenario.
Yousuf Raza Gilani is not only the former Prime Minister of the country but he is a happy face of the country’s politics. It is this background that makes him a strong candidate for the Islamabad seat in the Senate. But the question remains whether he will win the Senate election or not. At present, 342 members of the National Assembly have to cast their votes to be elected to the Senate from Islamabad. Officially, the government has 180 votes, including all allies, while the opposition has 160 votes. Opposition’s unanimous candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani needs a total of 11 votes to take the lead over his rival to become a senator.
The opposition believes that it will win the support of three GDA members of the National Assembly, two independents, Shah Zain Bugti of the Jamhoori Watan Party and about 12 members of the National Assembly who are in government there are complaints. During a meeting between Bilawal Bhutto and Yousuf Raza Gilani with Maryam Nawaz in Lahore on February 25, the PML-N was also given a list of about nine government members of the National Assembly. These are the members of the government who are ready to give their vote to the opposition in the Senate on the assurance of a ticket from the PML-N in the next general elections. Some members of PTI are in direct contact with PML-N.
The question is, why would the PML-N sacrifice so many seats in the National Assembly for the former PPP prime minister? Some people say that Yousuf Raza Gilani has a deep connection with Jahangir Tareen. Jahangir Tareen’s wife Amna Tareen is Yousuf Raza Gilani’s cousin, so Jahangir Tareen can take his revenge on Imran Khan by helping Yousuf Raza Gilani on this occasion. I don’t think Jahangir Tareen can take such a big risk without a hitch. Yousuf Raza Gilani is impressive, but in spite of all this, even if the voting is declared secret by the Supreme Court, the Establishment will never be neutral. Its neutrality will actually be the neutrality of the opposition. If Yousuf Raza Gilani wins the Senate election, then immediately after the victory, the opposition parties will bring a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the National Assembly. Can the current system take the risk of falling into the hands of an opposition that the Establishment is unwilling to trust? No, this cannot happen because the future of the Establishment’s elders depends on the decision-makers of this government.
Yousuf Raza Gilani’s opponent is Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, a financial adviser from Sindh. Sheikh Sahib has a deep connection with the Establishment. Due to this connection, he was given the key of the Ministry of Finance in the present government and he was also fielded in the Senate. Those who took Sheikh Sahib to the polls are providing full support and some members of the opposition have also been contacted. The fear is that the votes of the opposition will not be reduced this time instead of the government. The decision of the Election Commission to postpone the general elections in Daska and the guarantee of Hamza Shahbaz has certainly created a stir in the atmosphere against the government. However, the government and the establishment have not gone beyond each other. The protection of the present government is the protection of the Establishment itself. People who think that the establishment is or is neutral may not have a clear idea of the facts. This has never happened in the past and will never happen again.
