First Opposition Leader In The Senate
First Opposition Leader In The Senate: A notification was issued by the Senate Secretariat that Sherry Rehman Rehman is appointed as the leader of the opposition in the Upper House of the Parliament. She will be the first woman of Pakistan to lead the opposition party in the Senate.
She was nominated by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto on March 14. After the submission of her nomination papers she was supported by 33 members of Senate. With the exclusion of PTI, MQM-P and JI, members of all other opposition parties and the independents had supported her nomination for the new leader of the opposition in Senate.
Sherry Rehman has served as Pakistan’s ambassador to United States during PPP’s government. Before that she had also served as a Senator and federal minister for information and broadcasting. The PPP vice president has worked hard for women’s rights. She had submitted the Women Empowerment Bill, Anti-Honor Killings Bill, Domestic Violence Prevention Bill, Affirmative Action Bill and Hudood Repeal Bill following before the National Assembly.
The late Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti and Sherry Rehman also coauthored a bill to amend the country’s blasphemy laws due to the imprisonment of a Christian woman. During her career she also challenged the two constitutional ordinances one is “ban on live news broadcasts involving suicide bombers and extremists” and second is the “protective measures for journalists” found involved in defaming the president. She is known for advocating legislative reforms, strengthening of democratic institutions and a practical foreign policy analyst.
She is the head of the think tank Jinnah Institute that has an important space for policy advocacy. Due to her skills and experience, Senators across the political divide supported her, including those from FATA and Balochistan.
Today, the Senate secretariat issued a notification, saying that Rehman is the leader of the opposition in the Upper House of the Parliament.