The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Sunday nominated independent senator-elect from Balochistan Sadiq Sanjrani as its candidate for the coveted post of Senate chairman, turning down PML-N’s proposal to field Raza Rabbani for the top office of the Upper House of the Parliament.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari made this announcement after a meeting of party leaders in the federal capital.
He said the party has decided to field Sadiq Sanjrani and Saleem Mandviwalla for Senate chairman and deputy chairman slots, respectively.
Speaking to the media after the meeting alongside Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, Bilawal said the nomination of Sanjrani was aimed to help resolve the problems facing the people of the province.
Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif chaired a meeting of party leaders and allies in the federal capital today to discuss their candidates for the top offices of the Senate.
With the ruling party claiming to have gathered the support of as many as 57 senators in the 104-House to elect its candidates with ease, Sharif and his allies decided to support Raza Rabbani, if PPP nominates him for the office of Senate chairman.
PML-N Information Secretary Mushahidullah Khan said they had been waiting for PPP to nominate its candidate for Senate chairman.
If Rabbani was not nominated, Sharif would make public the name of party’s own nominee for the slot, he said.
National Party President Mir Hasil Bizenjo told media after the huddle that if PPP fielded Rabbani, the ruling party and allies would vote for him.
He said they would field their own candidate if the Bilawal Bhutto Zardari-led party didn’t respond in affirmative to their proposal.
After the meeting, Nawaz Sharif left for Lahore and will return to the federal capital tomorrow to hold a final round of deliberations over Senate chairman and deputy chairman nominees.
Sources say, PPP and PTI have joined hands to field consensus candidates for the coveted offices of the Upper House.
Both parties agreed to vote for a senator-elect from Balochistan for Senate chairman office and a candidate from FaTa for deputy chairman.
Earlier today, the PTI spokesperson confirmed that party will support newly elected Senator Sadiq Sanjrani from Balochistan for the post of Senate chairman.
Talking to media following a meeting between party chairman Imran Khan and Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, the spokesperson said the party chief agreed on Sadiq Sanjrani as candidate for Senate chairmanship.
On the other hand, the PPP leadership is still to make an official announcement pertaining to the names of their candidates for the Senate top seats.
