ISLAMABAD: The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf (PTI)has claimed that the no-trust motion against Senate Chairman Mohammad Sadiq Sanjrani is bound to be defeated.

`We are not holding meetings with the leaders of opposidon pardes to seek their support, but to warn them against setting a wrong precedence for shortterm political gains, Leader of the House in the Senate Syed Shibli Faraz told Dawn on Thursday.

When pointed out that the opposition had the support of over 60 senators, far more than the 53 required to get the no-trust motion passed, he said that `theoretically it is correct, but practically it would be different as members would vote in line with their conscience in a secret ballot`.

In reply to a question, he said contacts with the opposition would continue, but the decision to meet Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was being reconsidered following his allegation of horse-trading which amounted to insulting the entire house, including the senators belonging to his own party.

Mr Faraz said the PTI was not trying to lure anybody but was in contact with some senators belonging to the opposition who had reservations over the no-trust motion against a chairman who was running the house in a balanced and impartial manner.

The PTI leader warned that if the motion was not withdrawn, it would continue to happen af ter interval of months in the days ahead and cause harm to the upper house of parliament having equal representation of the federating units.

When contacted, PPP`s parliamentary leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman said: `The government benches now know that they are defeated.

She said the government should realise that by constantly creating hurdles both in procedures and politics it was exposing its own desperation to win by hook or by crook.