KARACHI: Former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf who is Secretary General of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) has announced the names of candidates his party has decided to field in the Senate elections to be held on March 3.

He said at a press conference here on Monday that on the basis of the strength of the PPPP in the provincial assemblies there will be seven candidates from Sindh, three from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one each from Punjab and the Federal Capital Area. He said Islamuddin Shaikh, Rehman Malik, Saleem Mandviwala, Gyan Chand and Abdul Lateef Ansari had been given the ticket for general seats, Farooq H. Naek for the technocrat seat and Sassui Palejo for a seat reserved for women from Sindh.

Also read: PPP to field seven candidates for Sindh senate polls

From Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khanzada Khan and Noor Alam Khan will be candidates for general seats and Humayoon Khan for a seat reserved for technocrats.

Nadeem Afzal Chan will contest from Punjab and Nargis Faiz Malik from the Federal Capital Area for general seats.

Seven candidates will be from Sindh, three from KP and one each from Punjab and the Federal Capital Area

Twenty of the 41 PPPP members of the upper house will be retiring after completion of their six-year tenure.

Answering a question, Mr Ashraf said that PPPP President Makhdoom Amin Fahim was expected to return from abroad on Monday night, but the names of candidates had been finalised by the parliamentary board with his consent.

He rejected a perception about differences between PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and said it could be some people’s wish but nothing to do with reality. He also said his party had followed noble parliamentary traditions and always opposed horse-trading. “We want to hold dialogue with all political parties because politics is the name of dialogue and exchange of views.”

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2015

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