ISLAMABAD: With the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s announcement on Friday that it will vote neither for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) nor the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in the election of the Senate chairman, the groups of independent senators from Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) are believed to have become the most prized ones with the decisive role they can play in the upcoming poll.

While mainstream political parties and senators from Balochistan and Fata continued wheeling dealing for the office of Senate chairman, the PML-N with 33 seats in the upper house and support of its allies seems in a comfortable position to get its candidate appointed as the next chairman.

In a significant development, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari rushed to Islamabad and met the outgoing Senate chairman, Mian Raza Rabbani, requesting him to shun differences with party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari who refused to accept the PML-N offer to nominate him for the office of chairman for a second term. Sources close to Mr Bhutto-Zardari told Dawn that he was still trying to nominate Mr Rabbani as the party’s candidate for the slot.

Focus back on Balochistan, Fata Senators; Bilawal holds meeting with Rabbani

With 12 seats in the upper house of parliament, the PTI drew the line earlier on Friday when its core committee decided not to support the candidates of the ruling PML-N or PPP. PTI chairman Imran Khan, who presided over the party’s core committee meeting, suggested other political parties that the chairman and deputy chairman should come from Balochistan and Fata. The PPP co-chairman, who has insisted on the nomination of party leader Saleem Mandviwala, could get PTI’s indirect support if he agreed to support candidates from Fata or Balochistan.

Addressing a press conference after the core committee meeting, the PTI chairman said: “There is a consensus within our party that our senators will neither vote for PML-N nor the PPP.

“In our opinion, the Senate chairman should be from Balochistan and deputy chairman from Fata.”

Mr Khan added that senators from Fata and Balochistan should be given top slots and respect in the Senate. “We feel that time has come for the two main parties to offer a sacrifice. These two parties have been in power for a long time and the prevailing sense of deprivation grew during their time,” he added.

Announcing that his party was in talks with the eight independent senators-elect from Balochistan, the PTI chief warned that Pakistan would suffer if a PML-N senator was elected Senate chairman. “The ruling party can make a person-specific legislation,” he said.

Meanwhile, senators from Fata called on the PPP chairman and co-chairman at Zardari House where they discussed matters related to Senate election and issues pertaining to Fata.

Also, Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo called on the PPP chairman and co-chairman. Former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Dr Qayyum Soomro, Senator Salim Mandviwala, Senator Sardar Ali Khan, president and general secretary of the party’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter, Humayun Khan and Faisal Karim Kundi, were also present at the meetings.

A source close to Mr Bhutto-Zardari said he was supporting Mr Rabbani’s candidature for the next Senate chairman. “Mr Bhutto-Zardari was also holding consultation within the party to seek internal support for Mr Rabbani despite opposition from Mr Zardari,” the source said.

The source was confident that Mr Bhutto-Zardari would manage to win support of other senior party leaders for Mr Rabbani, as it was learnt that Mr Rabbani in the meeting agreed to take oath as Senator on March 12 election.

Meanwhile, the chief minister of Balochistan also met Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi who sought the support of the independent senators-elect for PML-N candidate for the top slot of the upper house.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2018