Meanwhile, six independent senators from Fata have formed a group and nominated Senator Aurangzeb as their leader, according to a separate notification.

Days before the Senate elections took place on March 3, all PML-N nominees were declared independent by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The decision was taken in the aftermath of the Supreme Court verdict which removed Nawaz Sharif from his post as party head and nullified all official party decisions he took following the July 28, 2017, Panama Papers judgment.

The ruling party won the expected 15 seats in the elections despite having suffered a major setback in Balochistan, while the PPP pulled off a surprise win on 12 seats which with the likely support of independent candidates may further allow it to consolidate its position in the upper house.

Besides the 15 candidates backed by the PML-N, 12 PPP, 10 independent, six PTI, two candidates of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and National Party each, one candidate from each of the MQM, Jamaat-i-Islami and PML-F had returned successful on 52 of the 104 Senate seats.