Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated on Saturday Sadiq Sanjrani and Mirza Mohammad Afridi for securing the top slots in the Senate, saying that he was glad that the posts went to people from Balochistan and the tribal areas.
"Congratulations to Sadiq Sanjrani and Mirza Mohammad Afridi on winning Senate chairman and Deputy chairman elections," tweeted the premier.
Congratulations to Sadiq Sanjrani & Mirza Mohammad Afridi on winning Senate Chairman & Dy Chairman elections. I am happy Balochistan & former FATA got these two slots in line with my policy of mainstreaming those parts of Pak that have been marginalised or left behind in the past
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 13, 2021
PM Imran said he was "happy" to see that the top two slots of the Senate went to Balochistan and the former federally administered tribal areas.
He said that the victory was in line with his policy of "mainstreaming those parts of Pakistan that have been marginalised or left behind in the past".
The much-awaited Senate chairman election concluded Friday evening with government-backed candidates Sadiq Sanjrani and Mirza Mohammad Afridi emerging as the victors.
In the race for chairman, Sanjrani defeated Opposition candidate Yousaf Raza Gillani with 48 votes, while Gillani received 42 votes.
On the other hand, government candidate Afridi won the election for the deputy chairman of the Senate with 54 votes, defeating Opposition's Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, who grabbed 44 votes.
Senator Syed Muzafar Hussain Shah of the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, who was the presiding officer, administered the oath of chairman to Sanjrani.
During counting, seven votes cast for Gillani were rejected. According to the presiding officer, the stamps were not placed correctly on the ballot paper which rendered them null and void.
