In another shock to the opposition parties, the federal government on Thursday passed bills relating to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) in the Senate, where the opposition enjoys a majority. The bills were passed during the same session in which the opposition protested the ruling party’s recent decision to hike petrol prices up to Rs12.03 per litre. It had been stated that the recent increase in the POLs prices by the government had even surpassed the hike proposed in the summary forwarded by OGRA. The opposition, however, lambasted that the amendments proposed in the bills would make the authority more anonymous and were made on the behest of the IMF.
History is proof that less interference from governments has made state enterprises perform better and only time could tell whether the amendments passed in the two OGRA bills on Thursday will have a similar effect. Economists have also vouched for the SBP bill passed in the Senate, which provides the central bank ‘complete authority’. Having said that, what is pertinent to note about Thursday’s Senate session is the opposition’s defeat despite having numbers on its side.
The political landscape in the country is abuzz with the major opposition parties – the PML-N, PPP and the JUI-F – working together to move a no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan. They have also reached out to the ruling PTI’s coalition partners – the PML-Q and MQM-P – to seek their support. The motion will be passed in the National Assembly where the opposition only has 164 seats and needs a total of 172 votes to oust PM Imran-led government. If the opposition is unable to gather votes to oppose the government bills presented in the Senate, how exactly is it confident to pass the no-confidence motion? This would require it to ensure that not only all of its 164 MNAs are present in the assembly but also have eight others willing to vote in their favour. It is a tall order and the opposition only seems oddly confident about it.
As for the government, while it may not have to worry about the no-trust move, it definitely needs to understand the importance of reaching a consensus with the opposition lawmakers in the house for a healthy functioning of a democratic system. Bulldozing laws in an autocratic manner is only hurting the already weak democracy Pakistan has.
