ISLAMABAD   -   The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Wednesday renewed its efforts to convince opposition parties in the Senate to withdraw no-confidence motion against Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.

Just before a week when the Senate would meet to seal the fate of Sajnrai, the ruling PTI and its allies reached out to the senior leadership of the opposition parties who have a clear majority in the 104-member house.

A delegation comprising members of PTI and its allies called on Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Moulana Fazlur Rehman at his residence in Islamabad to pacify the annoyed leader of the opposition party.

Leader of the House in the Senate Shibli Faraz and Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Alyani were prominent among the delegation, which also included some senators of treasury benches. The Parliamentary Leader of JUI-F in the Senate Moulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri was also present in the meeting.

A day before his meeting with JUI-F leadership, PTI Senator Shibli Faraz told The Nation that he would also meet Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif to convince them to withdraw the motion.

“I am making these efforts only to uphold the dignity and honour of the Upper House,” Shibli said. He further said that he would complete all his meetings with the leadership of opposition parties before August 1, when the house would meet for a voting on the no-trust resolution.

Talking to reporters after his meeting with JUI-F leadership, he said that the “government was contacting opposition parties as a matter of principle”. He said that the purpose was to improve the political situation in the country and added that their purpose was to end the logjam between the government and the opposition.

The Balochistan CM on the occasion said that they put their request before Fazl. He admitted that moving a no-confidence motion against Senate chairman was a democratic right of the opposition but there was no precedent of Senate chairman’s removal in this way in country’s parliamentary history.

The opposition’s move might not produce good results because one and half year term of Senate has already completed, Alyani said, adding that the practice might lead to submission of no-confidence motions after every two to three months. “We should take steps for the betterment of the system.”

CM Balochistan pointed out that Sanjrani, who also hails from Balochistan, had been running the house in a good manner and expressed the hope that JUI-F chief would play his role in convincing the other opposition parties against the move.

JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman in his media interaction, however, stuck to the opposition’s decision to move ahead for the removal of Sanjrani and said that the opposition had come a long way on the issue.

“How government’s desire to withdraw the motion could be fulfilled at this moment?” he asked. The government should give only such suggestions as could be considered by the opposition parties, he added.

On June 26, opposition parties’ multi-party conference hosted by Fazl in Islamabad had decided to remove Senate chairman through a no-confidence resolution.

On July 17, Senator Faraz had held separate meetings with the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Raja Zafarul Haq and PPP Parliamentary Leader in the Senate Senator Sherry Rehman.

In his meetings, he had sought withdrawal of the no-confidence motion against Senate chairman with the warning that the opposition would have to face embarrassment as it might be defeated.

But the opposition parties had rejected government’s request to withdraw the motion.