PTI to support Sadiq Sanjrani for Senate chairman after Imran-Bizenjo meeting

ISLAMABAD: With the election of the Senate chairman and deputy chairman due tomorrow, several important meetings were held on Sunday by political parties while others are planned for later today to finalise candidates for the top slots of the Upper House of Parliament. 

Earlier today, recently-elected chief minister of Balochistan, Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, held a meeting with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan at his Bani Gala residence along with independent senators from the province.

Following the meeting, the PTI spokesperson informed the media that the party will support Sadiq Sanjrani, an independent senator-elect from Balochistan for the Senate chairman.

According to sources, the PTI chief reiterated in the meeting that the Senate chairman should be from Balochistan and the deputy chairman from the tribal areas so the sense of isolation of these regions is addressed.  

Moreover, sources said Bizenjo has assured the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of support for the party's candidate for deputy chairman of the Senate from any region in return for their support for Sanjrani. 

The Balochistan chief minister also thanked Imran for his support to candidates from neglected provinces.

Earlier, the PTI and PPP had given Bizenjo the authority to bring forth a joint candidate for the slots with help of the newly-elected independent senators from Balochistan. 

'History will be made' 

Talking to the media in Faisalabad, where he is visiting the party's membership camps, Imran said, "God willing, history will be made if and when a Senate chairman is made from Balochistan for the first time in the country's history". 

The PTI chief said the province had been neglected since ages, leading to a sense of deprivation among the people which is exploited by the nationalists and militants. 

"This will strengthen the federation," said Imran, adding that the party has, for the sake of the country, also supported the PPP's candidate for the deputy chairman slot as per Bizenjo’s panel. 

The PTI chief asserted his party would win the general elections this year and bring about a revolution in the country.

"Neither have I ever bowed down to anyone, nor will I let my country's people bow down [to anyone]," he added. 

PML-N, allies finalise names, says Bizenjo 

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) held a meeting today, under the chair of party supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, to decide on their candidates.

The meeting was attended by senior party leaders, including Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

Senior PML-N leadership also met with allies, including, Hasil Bizenjo, Maulana Fazlur Rehman as well as independent senators-elects from FATA.

Hasil Bizenjo talking to media after the meeting said that the PML-N and allies have finalised names for the chairman and deputy chairman slots but that they will wait for an announcement from the PPP till tonight.

The PML-N will back Raza Rabbani, which is still the "favourite", if he is fielded by PPP for the chairman slot, otherwise Nawaz Sharif will announce the PML-N candidate in the morning tomorrow, Bizenjo said.

Sources said that in case the PPP doesn't propose the name of the last Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, the PML-N will bring forth its own candidate for chairman and let allies have the deputy chairman slot.

Earlier, Nawaz had proposed that the party would support Rabbani's re-election as Senate chairman but the PPP dismissed the move.

After a meeting of the PML-N and its allies on Saturday, National Party (NP) leader Hasil Bizenjo had said that apart from his party, the PML-N had the support of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP).

The NP leader added that there had been no discussions in the meeting for appointing the chairman from Balochistan. “This is not an issue of Balochistan, rather an issue for the allied parties,” he had said.

PML-N and allies in an earlier meeting had announced to support PPP if it fields Rabbani for the Senate chairman, an offer PPP co-chairman Zardari rejected.

Senate session on Monday 

President Mamnoon Hussain has summoned a session of the Senate on March 12, in which newly-elected senators will be sworn in at 10am.

Nomination papers for Senate chairman and deputy chairman will then be submitted in the Senate Secretariat at noon.

The nomination papers will be reviewed at 2pm after which another session will be summoned at 4pm the same day, when the chairman and deputy chairman will be elected.

Following the election, the Senate chairman will take oath, and will then swear in his deputy.

After the oath-taking, the session will be adjourned until further notice. 

Numbers game

The PML-N and independents backed by the party have 33 members in the Senate following the March 3 election.

If you add the party’s allies — five senators of the PkMAP, five of NP, four of JUI-F and one from PML-Functional — then the count goes up to 48.

The PML-N and its allies claim that they are ahead in the numbers game, and are certain of support from five senators of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), two of eight from FATA and one each from the Awami National Party and Balochistan National Party (Mengal).

If the PML-N indeed gets support from these nine senators, then the party will have a total of 57 members. A total of 53 votes are needed to win the posts.