QUETTA: Most of the political parties contesting coming Senate elections from Balochistan completed their final lists of candidates and announced their names on Saturday.

The founder of the ruling Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) in the province, Saeed Ahmed Hashmi, was among the party candidates who were awarded party tickets. Mr Hashmi will contest Senate election for a seat reserved for technocrats as he is a mining engineer by profession. Earlier, he has remained a member of the Senate twice.

BAP secretary general Manzoor Ahmed Kakar and former home minister Mir Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti have also succeeded in getting party ticket for the second time.

Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan, who is president of the BAP, has also awarded a party ticket to his adviser on minority affairs Mr Danesh Kumar for a seat reserved for minorities.

The candidates who were awarded party tickets started filing nomination papers with Provincial Election Commissioner Abdul Razzaq who has been appointed as returning officer for the Senate elections in Balochistan.

As many as 14 candidates filed their nomination papers, seven of them for as many general seats from Balochistan, including Jamiat Ulama-i-Islam-Fazl Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Senator Sarfaraz Bugti, Senator Sitara Ayaz and Mir Naveed Kalmati of the BAP, Abdul Qadir of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Arbab Omar Farooq Kasi of Awami National Party (ANP).

Maulana Khalil Ahmad Buledi of JUI-F and, Mohammad Qasim of Balochistan National Party-Mengal filed their nomination papers for two seats of technocrats/ulema.

Similarly, Beenish Sikandar Masih of the ANP and Ms Atifa of Hazara Democratic Party filed their nomination papers for two seats reserved for women. Danesh Kumar of the BAP, Heman Das of the JUI-F and Beenish Sikandar Masih also filed their nomination papers for a seat reserved for non-Muslims.

Maulana Haideri, after submitting his nomination papers, said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement leadership had decided that the opposition alliance would jointly contest by-elections and Senate polls. After scrutiny of nomination papers, a meeting of the PDM member parties would discuss this issue, he said.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2021