Polling for Senate seat today

LAHORE: Polling for a Senate seat from Punjab vacated as a result of Senator Nihal Hashmi’s disqualification will take place on Thursday (today) in Punjab Assembly.

PML-N candidate Dr Asad Ashraf and PTI’s Dr Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur will contest for the vacant general seat, with high possibility of Dr Asad’s victory as Nawaz League possessed largest strength in PA with 318 members. PTI’s total strength in the House in 34 which included 30 of its own MPAs and four others who joined party fold after winning as independent candidates. PPP, PML-Q with 8 seats each and Jamaat-e-Islami with strength of 1 in the House of 371 have not fielded candidates for this slot. However, for the Senate polls for the year 2018 which are taking place on March 3, Peoples Party and PML-Q are contesting. In the House of 371, three seats are vacant, either as a result of death or disqualification of the member. In this way, currently the PA is comprised of 368 voters.

Sources stated that PTI is also trying to garner the support of PPP and PML-Q, although this may not put PTI in the winning position against 318 of PML-N. Dr Zarqa Taimur has also moved a court and demanded postponement of polls.

PML-Q Parliamentary leader Waqas Moakkel when contacted told The News that the party had decided to abstain from the polling process and had so far taken no decision to cast vote. Qazi Ahmed Saeed, PPP Parliamentary leader in PA while talking to The News also expressed similar views and stated none of its members would cast vote today.

Talking to media on Wednesday, Dr Zarqa stated that Lahore High Court had issued notices to Dr Asad as well as Election Commission for clearing the PML-N candidate and allowing him to contest the polls in independent capacity.

She said as the notices had been by the court, the poll process should be postponed. A dermatologist, Dr Zarqa, joined PTI on her return from Dubai in the year 2010 and remained an active member of the party, particularly in the affairs related to cantonment and Lahore city. She is currently also associated with the media cell of PTI Punjab.

Before moving back to Lahore, she was President Medical Wing of Dubai Pakistan Association and currently also an examiner with the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. Besides, she has been on faculty of Otago University, New Zealand and locally with Fatima Jinnah Medical College. She is also affiliated with Loreal Pakistan in an honorary capacity as an expert dermatologist. Talking to The News, Dr Zarqa hoped to come up with a surprise in the senate election and expressed gratitude to her party leadership for showing confidence in her.

Dr Asad Ashraf, the PML-N backed candidate, is the brother of late Javed Asharf, a staunch party loyalist who lost his life on April 4, 1996 in clash with police in Tehreek-e-Nijat against the then the PPP government. Dr Asad Ashraf, having completed his MBBS from Allama Iqbal Medical College in 1986, served as consultant on cardiology at Services Hospital. He joined PML-N formally after the tragic assassination of his brother Javed Ashraf who was also the campaign in-charge of Shahbaz Sharif from NA-96.

After the PML-N government came to power in 1997, Dr Asad Ashraf was appointed as adviser to CM and held the office till the promulgation of emergency and dismissal of Nawaz government by Musharraf on October 12, 1999.

In the 2002 general elections which were held at a time while Sharifs were in exile, Dr Asad Ashraf was fielded from PP-138, a seat falling under NA-118 from where PML-Q President Mian Azhar was contesting. However, Dr Asad Ashraf won the seat while defeating PPP and PML-Q candidates after a tough contest. In Punjab Assembly, he also served as Deputy Parliamentary leader of PML-N with Rana Sana Ullah. He also served as chief organiser PML-N Lahore during a turbulent phase on party. In 2008 general elections which were after the return of Sharifs, Dr Asad Ashraf was once again contested the same seat which he won comfortably while emerging victorious against former MPA Qaiser Amin Butt and others.

He later headed taskforce on dengue and polio under Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and also remained as an active campaigner in the recent NA-120 by-polls from where Begum Kulsoom Nawaz emerged victorious a few months ago.  

Talking to The News, Dr Asad Ashraf said that he was thankful to PML-N leadership including former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, president Shahbaz Sharif and all supporters for expressing confidence in him. He said PML-N had once again honoured its worker while choosing him for the Upper House of Parliament and stated he would continue to work under the guidance of his leadership.