PDM eyes five Senate seats from KP as JI announces support: sources

KARACHI: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is eyeing to grab five Senate seats from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province after Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) on Saturday announced its support for the opposition candidates, ARY NEWS reported quoting sources.

According to sources, the Jamaat-i-Islami will contest on a seat reserved for women while the PPP would vie for a technocrat seat after both parties reached an understanding today.

Besides, this, the JI had also announced to support PDM’s candidate from the Islamabad seat, Yousuf Raza Gilani in the Senate elections.

“The meeting to finalize the matters held at the residence of Humayun Khan, where it was decided that PML-N, JUI-F and ANP will contest on general seats,” they said adding that the PDM will seek to win five seats from KP province in the Senate elections.

Those who attended the meeting included Abbas Afridi and Mian Alamgir Shah from PML-N, Farhatullah Babar, Muhammad Ali Shah and Ahmed Karim Kundi from the PPP, Maulana Lutfur Rehman and Mahmood Ahmed from JUI-F.

The ANP was represented in meeting by Haji Hidayatullah Khan and Sardar Hussian while Inayat Ullah Khan represented the JI.

It is pertinent to mention here that yesterday it emerged that the ruling political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and opposition parties held talks for holding ‘unopposed’ Senate elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) just like in Punjab.

Read More: KP CM summons PTI lawmakers to devise Senate elections strategy: sources

The provincial ministers of the ruling PTI in KP have contacted parliamentary leaders of the opposition parties including Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), sources told ARY News.

They mulled over implementing the formula of proportional representation of the political parties in the Senate. Sources added that PTI offered to give two general seats to the opposition in the Senate.

Shaukat Yousafzai confirmed that the opposition leaders have been contacted to hold unopposed Senate polls. He said that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) are creating hurdles to hold unopposed Upper House polls.