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KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari formed on Monday a six-member board to finalise names of party candidates for the Senate elections.
A meeting of the Pakistan People's Party's (PPP) central executive committee members from Sindh and the provincial core committee was summoned by Mr Zardari, who is co-chairman of the PPP, at Bilawal House to discuss the political situation, especially in view of the tense civil-military relationship, the opposition's demand for early elections and alleged efforts by some forces to stall the upper house elections.
The meeting also deliberated on relations with coalition parties, especially the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.
Talking to reporters outside Bilawal House, Senator Faisal Raza Abdi said the board would be headed by MNA Faryal Talpur.
MNA Qadir Patel, Syed Khurshid Shah, Raza Rabbani, Faryal Talpur, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Rafique Engineer, Islamuddin Sheikh, Nisar Khuhro, Agha Siraj Durrani, Ali Nawaz Shah and AyazSoomro attended the meeting.
The People's Party had invited applications from party workers for Senate elections due within weeks.
Jahangir Bader, the party's secretary general, had recently declared that the last date for applying in writing to the party co-chairman for the award of party tickets was January 10.
Applications accompanied with a bank draft for Rs30,000 should reach the party's central secretariat in Islamabad by the due date.
The senate elections are due to be held in weeks from now as half of the total strength will retire on March 12.
Under the law, election to vacant seats can be held even several weeks before the retiring date of March 12.
Senators will be elected by members of the present assemblies.
Four PPP Senators, Farooq Naik, Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Mian Raza Rabbani, and Dr Safdar Abbasi will retire on March 12.
According to PPP sources, the firstthree were certain to be nominated again whereas Dr Abbasi was likely to be axed because of his defiant stance against the party leadership following the assassination of chairperson Benazir Bhutto.
Senator Abdi said President Zardari vowed to continue the policy of reconcillation and taking allies along in the quest for strengthening democracy.
In reply to a question, he said that Pervez Musharraf had been declared an absconder and would be treated accordingly. 'He should be in jail,' Senator Abdi said.
Sources said that an MQM delegation, led by Dr Farooq Sattar, was expected to meet the president on Tuesday to discuss possible adjustments on seats for the Senate. The proposed consensus draft for the local government set-up in Sindh is also expected to figure in the talks.
According to sources, the MQM was working on two different set of proposed structure and there was a likelihood that a presentation to the president will be made by the delegation.
