Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s magic of reconciliation worked when all candidates from Punjab in the Senate election were elected unopposed on Thursday as a result of an ‘amicable truce’ between those who publicly seem hostile.
The candidates on seven general and two seats each reserved for women and technocrats from Punjab have been elected unopposed.
Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) leader Pervaiz Elahi was trying to make adjustments when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) confronted each other.
But, Pervaiz Elahi knew that despite having 10 seats in the Punjab Assembly, he would not be able to get a senator of his party elected from the province.
Therefore, he started backdoor negotiations and efforts of reconciliation materialized.
Five candidates of PTI and PML-N each and surprisingly one candidate of PML-Q, Kamil Ali Agha, who otherwise wouldn’t have made it to the upper house, were elected unopposed.
Sources told News360 that the speaker of the Punjab assembly approached PML-N leadership through Ata Tarar and also communicated with Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Vice Chairman Asif Ali Zardari over the telephone.
Besides this, he was in contact with the PTI government officials including Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.
Hence, Pervaiz Elahi’s magic of reconciliation worked and PPP withdrew its candidate from Punjab and an understanding was also established between rivals PTI and PML-N for the Senate election.
In case of voting
PTI has 181 seats in the Punjab Assembly followed by PML-N’s 166 lawmakers.
PML-Q has 10 seats whereas PPP occupies 7.
The women and technocrats seats were to be elected unopposed already but voting was to be carried out on seven general seats of Senate from Punjab probably through secret balloting.
PTI could have faced a tough time in the election if the voting was carried out as PML-N could have used political connections to get more seats in the upper house than its quota.
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PTI’s Dr Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur and PML-N’s Saadia Abbasi have been elected unopposed for the two seats reserved for women, and Syed Ali Zafar of the PTI and Azam Nazeer Tarar of the PML-N for the two seats reserved for technocrats.
Withdrawn candidatures
Some 17 candidates were running for seven general seats. However, 10 withdrew their nomination papers.
They include Zahid Hamid, Saiful Malook Khokhar, Baleeghur Rehman, Saud Majeed, Umar Sarfaraz Cheema, Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, Ijaz Hussain Minhas, Muhammad Khan Madni, Zaheer Abbas Khokhar, and Azeem-ul-Haq Minha.
What it can cost PTI
However, the development has rung the alarm for ruling PTI after PPP’s compromise is being considered as a ‘barter’ deal with PML-Q.
PPP is employing every connection to get its candidate, former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, elected from the general seat of Islamabad.
A tough contest is expected between PTI’s Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh and Gilani.
PPP leadership has met with PML-N’s leadership for getting support and augmenting chances of its candidate in the Senate election but its negotiations with PML-Q hasn’t come to the fore yet and only will in the voting.