Reports indicate that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) are fighting over the slot of leader of opposition in the Senate. On March 8, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Information Secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain told the media that it has been decided that the candidate for deputy chairman Senate would be from JUI-F and leader of the opposition in the upper House would be from the PML-N. Yousaf Raza Gillani was the PDM’s joint candidate for Senate chairman.

Sources say the PPP is now vying for this position as they have reservations over the nomination of newly elected Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar by the PML-N. Tarar is a senior lawyer and is representing two accused police officers in the Benazir Bhutto murder case. When he was asked about these reservations in Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’, Tarar said that he has his own professional commitments [as a lawyer] and he was representing the two police officers who were being tried for negligence in BB murder case. “These two have no role in the assassination but are being tried for negligence related to washing the crime scene.”

As per media reports, Sherry Rehman will be PPP’s candidate for leader of opposition but she has denied that she is the candidate for the position.

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