KARACHI, Feb 11: The Pakistan People’s Party’s eight candidates from Sindh for the Senate’s upcoming elections – announced on Wednesday by the party’s parliamentary board with the country’s president and the PPP’s co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in the chair – are quite a mixed bag.

Though dedication to the party might have been a consideration, most analysts and political observers this writer spoke to were of the opinion that influence in the corridors of power and the level of closeness to Mr Zardari were paramount factors in sealing the deal to ensure who gets a shot at becoming a member of the upper house of Pakistan’s parliament come March 4.

Two names that surprised no one were that of Farooq Hamid Naek and Abdul Rehman Malik – nominated on technocrats’ seats – as both gentlemen are considered part of the president’s inner circle.

Mr Naek, a lawyer by profession, is already a member of the 100-seat Senate (elected in 2003), while he is also the serving federal minister for law and justice.

Rehman Malik is one of the most controversial as well as most powerful figures in the ruling set-up. The prime minister’s adviser on interior, Mr Malik is a former head of the Federal Investigation Agency and some have even labelled him the most powerful man in the federal cabinet.

However, critics have repeatedly attacked his “unelected” status. If all goes according to plan on March 4, Mr Malik might gain the legitimacy he most probably craves as a newly elected senator.

Karachi-based Faisal Raza Abidi is considered by many as a rising star of the PPP. The young head of the party’s Karachi division fashions himself as a dyed-in-the-wool jiyala and lost the bitterly contested Feb 18 elections for NA-253 to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Haider Abbas Rizvi. Currently based in Safoora Goth, he is said to be involved with the party since his student days, as a worker of the People’s Student Federation.

A capable orator and organiser, Abidi might help the party gain a foothold in parts of Karachi where the PPP has traditionally not won seats. The fact that he organized a political rally in Annu Bhai Park last year – located in what many consider to be the Muttahida’s heartland of Nazimabad – is testament to this. It remains to be seen what his new role would be should he win the Senate seat.

Islamuddin Shaikh from Sukkur has been around the political block. He was twice mayor of Sukkur while he has been elected to the Senate previously. Though he was earlier affiliated with the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, time in jail together with Mr Zardari caused him to switch loyalties to the PPP. He was also due to run for the Sindh Assembly, but a corruption case nixed that plan.

Observers claim Mr Shaikh was also being considered for the governorship of Sindh before the PPP ironed out matters with the MQM to maintain the status quo. They add that his Senate nomination was quite expected. His son Noman Shaikh represents the PPP in the National Assembly.

However, commentators were a bit surprised at the nomination of Gul Mohammad Lot, who is currently adviser to the Sindh chief minister for enquiries and anti-corruption. Mr Lot’s father was said to be a People’s Party MPA, while he reportedly hails from Tharparkar. By profession he is a businessman.

Though he also has an old association with the PPP, observers say the confidence he enjoys with Asif Ali Zardari may have been a bigger factor in ensuring his nomination.

Dr Khatumal Jeevan, also from Tharparkar, is an old worker of the party and an ex-MNA. Currently, he is adviser to the Sindh CM on mines and minerals.

Two other low-profile candidates round off the PPP’s list: Almas Parveen, selected for a women’s seat, is reportedly a grassroots party worker from Lyari while Maula Bux Chandio, who hails from Hyderabad, is said to be a senior worker involved with the party since his student days. He currently heads the People’s Study Circle.—QAM