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Friday March 29, 2024

PML-N confident its candidates will win in Senate election

PESHAWAR: Despite rumours of sale and purchase of vote, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) is confident of smooth sailing for its candidates in the upcoming Senate elections.The party legislators from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in their meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad recently assured him to obey the

By Nisar Mahmood
March 01, 2015
PESHAWAR: Despite rumours of sale and purchase of vote, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) is confident of smooth sailing for its candidates in the upcoming Senate elections.
The party legislators from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in their meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad recently assured him to obey the party discipline and follow the leadership’s directives.
“There are no differences among the legislators and they are united under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. They have no objection to the nomination of candidates,” PML-N provincial general secretary Rehmat Salam Khattak told The News.
He said other issues also came under discussion in the party lawmakers and office-bearers’ meeting with the prime minister. “The members presented the problems of their respective constituencies and the prime minister assured them of early solution,” he added.
To a question about the party provincial president Pir Sabir Shah’s grievances, he said Pir Sahib had no objection to award of tickets to candidates. “Being provincial president of the party, Pir Sabir Shah did not find it suitable to be a covering candidate as it was not good for the party. Otherwise, he was not against the party decision and was fully abiding by the party line,” he added.
He said Lt Gen (Retd) Salahuddin Tirmizi, the PML-N candidate on the general seat, would win on the basis of the numerical strength of the party in the provincial assembly.
Though almost all the political parties having representation in the assembly have fielded candidates on the general as well as reserved seats of technocrats and women, only the ruling alliance of PTI, JI and AJIP along with the JUI-F and PML-N have the required number of votes for winning seats provided they succeeded in foiling horse-trading.
The opposition parties despite differences over distribution of seats are still trying to reach a consensus. The PML-N stalwart and Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan is making efforts to develop a consensus not only among the opposition parties but also with the ruling alliance for electing the senators with consensus.
Aftab Sherpao’s Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) that has 10 members in the assembly has fielded an old worker Abdul Malik and a newcomer Ammar Ahmad Khan.
The latter’s brother Waqar Ahmad Khan is also in the run for a Senate seat as an independent candidate.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is wary of indiscipline in its ranks and the possibility of some of its legislators not voting for party candidates. Imran Khan has threatened to send to the jail any lawmaker who betrayed the party in the polls. Political observers predict upsets in the Senate elections in the province.