Chairman Senate polls: PPP meets MQM-P, BAP approaches GDA to seek support

KARACHI: Ahead of the election for chairman and deputy chairman Senate, political maneuvering has intensified in Karachi to seek support of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA).

On Tuesday, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) once again sought the support of MQM-P for its candidate Yousaf Raza Gilani for Chairman Senate.

The Balochistan Awami Party chief and Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal also met Grand Democratic Alliance chief Pir Pagara to seek his support for their Senate Chairman candidate Sadiq Sanjrani. Earlier, a PPP three-member delegation led by Provincial Minister for Information & Local Government Syed Nasir Hussain Shah visited the MQM-P’s Bahadurabad headquarters to seek the latter’s support for Yousaf Raza Gilani as chairman Senate. Adviser Law and spokesperson for Sindh Government Barrister Murtaza Wahab and former Provincial Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon were also part of the PPP’s delegation.

MQM-P’s senior deputy Convener Aamir Khan led his party’s delegation. The party’s newly-elected Senator Faisal Sabzwari, and other leaders Javed Hanif, Rauf Siddiqui, and Muhammad Hussain were also present in the meeting. In an hour-long meeting, the PPP delegation said that it did not matter if the MQM did not support it during the Senate election, but it should play its role in making Yousaf Raza Gilani the Senate Chairman.

Talking to the media, MQM-P leader Khan said that his party has listened to the PPP’s request to support its candidate in the Senate. “We will discuss their request in the upcoming meeting of the party’s coordination committee where a final decision regarding who to support will be made.” The leaders of both parties also expressed their desire to work together in the future to resolve issues facing Sindh in a democratic manner.

“Apart from the Senate election, MQM-P has once again requested the PPP delegation to work together for the betterment of urban and rural populations,” said Khan. Sindh Minister Shah said that on the party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s special directive, the PPP is visiting the MQM-P to seek their support for Gilani as Chairman Senate slot. “We are optimistic that our strong case would be pleaded in the MQM-P’s coordination committee meeting,” Shah said. He said that the MQM-P’s coordination committee will take decisions in the best interest of the province and for people of rural and urban Sindh.

On Saturday, Pakistan Democratic Movement joint candidate and PPP leader Yousuf Raza Gilani also called on MQM-P’s convener and MNA Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui in Islamabad to seek the party’s support in the Senate chairman polls. Also, on Tuesday, the BAP’s central head and Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Jamal, and other leaders met Grand Democratic Alliance’s chief Pir Pagara and discussed the upcoming Senate chairman polls and the country’s overall political situation. Both parties, which are also part of the PTI-led coalition government, reiterated to support each other in the Senate chairman elections.