ISLAMABAD: JUI-F and PPP have agreed to support each other’s candidates in the upcoming Senate by-elections on March 14 after a meeting between the parties’ leaders on Tuesday.

The former has shown some flexibility in its rigid stance of not taking part in the parliamentary process as it announced support for PPP’s candidate for the upper house from Islamabad.

The PPP would return the favour by sup­­porting JUI-F’s candidates from Balochistan.

Since the elections on Feb 8, JUI-F has not voted in the elections of speaker, deputy speaker, leader of the house and president.

ECP calls open hearing to resolve issue of ‘disputed’ woman on reserved seat

The agreement was reached after a JUI-F delegation, led by Secretary Gene­ral Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, visited PPP’s Secretariat and met with former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gillani, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bu­khari and MNA Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani.

The by-elections on six vacant Senate seats will be held tomorrow (Thursday). The seats, one in the federal capital, two in Sindh and three in Balochistan, were left relinquished by senators following their election as members of the National, Sindh and Balochistan assemblies.

Mr Gillani said the PPP held a few meetings with the JUI-F chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and welcomed the party’s delegation to “work together in parliament”.

The PPP secretary general said the meeting was held on the directives of the party chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, and President Asif Ali Zardari.

The JUI-F sought PPP’s support on three seats from Balochistan, and the party has consented to it, Mr Bukhari added.

One of the seats was vacated by Mr Gillani, who became an MNA after winning the election from Multan on February 8. However, he had submitted the nomination papers to contest the election from Islamabad.

This effectively means that if Mr Gillani wins, he’d have to leave his NA seat, paving the way for a by-election there.

Mr Gillani will be facing Chaudhry Ilyas Mehrban, a candidate of the PTI-Sun­­ni Ittehad Council (SIC) coalition, in a one-on-one contest since PML-N has not fielded any candidate against the former PM.

The three seats from Balochistan were vacated by Mr Haideri, Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti and Prince Omar Ahmadzai who became MNA and Balochistan Assembly members, respectively.

Twelve candidates from different parties, including the PPP, Balochistan Awami Party, JUI-F and PML-N, have filed their nomination papers for the three seats. Nisar Khuhro and Jam Mehtab Dahar of PPP left their seats after being elected Sindh Assembly members.

ECP’s reply to JUI-F

Separately, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has responded to a letter sent by the JUI-F emir to the chief election commissioner over the notification of Sadaf Ehsan as JUI-F’s MNA on a reserved seat.

Mr Rehman had criticised the move and termed it “either an ill-intended move or lack of competence” on ECP’s part, as there was no woman named Sadaf Ehsan on JUI-F’s list of reserved seats’ candidates.

In its reply, the ECP said that Sadaf Yasmeen’s name was included on the list submitted by JUI-F to the returning offi­cer (RO), and the party also claimed that she, not Sadaf Ehsan, is their candidate.

But no candidate of such name had submitted nomination papers, the ECP said, adding that a woman named Sadaf Ehsan, a resident of Lakki Marwat, did submit her nomination papers.

“Therefore, to remove this dispute, notices have been issued to all concerned and open hearing of the case has been decided to resolve the matter,” the ECP said, adding that the commission has also ordered an inquiry into the incident and suspended the RO.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2024