ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is considering all available options, including support from Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), in the race to bag posts of Senate chairman and deputy chairman, Dawn.com has learnt.

According to a senior PML-N leader, the party is considering Senator Raja Zafar ul Haq, Senator Iqbal Zafar Jhagra and Senator Nuzhat Sadiq for the said Senate positions.

“The leadership is deliberating over approaching the MQM to secure the slots of the chairman and deputy chairman and could also invite the MQM to join federal government,” said the senior leader.

The PML-N leader went on to say that the party’s central leadership believes its coalition partners in Balochistan – PkMAP and the NP – and its federal allies (JUI-F and PML-F) will support the government in Senate. But the party needs MQM on its side to win over Senate’s top slots. If the MQM is not on board, it will be difficult for the government to challenge the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), said the PML-N leader.

After Thursday’s election, the government and its coalition partners now have a total of 38 Senate seats: 26 for PML-N, five for JUI-F, three each for PkMAP and NP, and one seat for PML-F.

But the PPP and its allies have 42 Senate seats, of which 27 belong to the PPP, seven to the ANP and eight to the MQM.

“The leadership is assuming that PTI’s senators will not support either the PML-N or the PPP, which means MQM’s eight seats in addition to the 10 independent candidates will decide which party bags the coveted Senate slots. So the PML-N will try to get MQM’s support at any cost,” the PML-N leader said.

Another PML-N leader, while talking to Dawn.com, also said the party’s leadership could ask the MQM to join it in the center in exchange for its support in the Senate, and may also offer MQM Senate’s deputy chairmanship.

“But some party leaders have suggested that the PML-N reach an understanding with the PPP, whereby it drops its own nominee for Senate chairman in favour of the latter, and instead settle for the deputy chairman slot,” the PML-N leader added.