ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q), Pakistan Muslim League Functional (PML-F) and Balochistan National Party Awami (BNP-A) will completely loss their representation in Senate while the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) is likely to emerge a single largest party in the Upper House after Senate elections on March 3.
As per the present strength in the national and the provincial assemblies, the ruling PML-N is likely to clinch at least 18 seats in the upcoming Senate Elections.
Currently, PML-N has majority seats in the Upper House of the Parliament with 27 seats and nine of its Senators are set to retire on March 11 after completing their six-year term.
It is likely that the PML-N will clean sweep the Senate Election in the Punjab assembly and win all 12 seats, where the party has a total of 309 members.
Similarly, the ruling party can easily win two seats from the Federal Capital as PML-N has majority in the National assembly. However, at least 15 new lawmakers of the PML-N would make their way in the House, raising the total number of its Senators to 33.
The Pakistan People Party (PPP) will be major loser as its 18 Senators out of 26 are set to retire on March 11, 2018 while the Awami National Party (ANP) will also lose five Senators out of total six after the elections.
As many as 52 Senators including 12 each from Punjab and Sindh, 11 each from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, two from the Federal Capital and four from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) will retire on March 11.
Some 18 Senators of PPP, nine of PML-N, five each of ANP and independents, four each of PML-Q, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), three of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), two of BNP-A, and one each of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and PML-F will complete their terms next year.
Prominent among those, who will retire include Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani, Finance Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Leader of the Opposition Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Farhatullah Babar, Azam Swati, Kamran Micheal, Shahi Syed, Kamil Ali Agha, Talha Mehmood, Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, Nasreen Jalil and Ilyas Bilour.
Senators from Punjab, who will retire next year include M. Hamza (PML-N), Kamil Ali Agha (PML-Q), Muhammad Mohsin Khan Leghari (Independent), Muhammad Zafar ullah Khan Dhandla (PML-N), Saud Majeed (PML-N) in vice of Malik Rafique Rajwana (PML-N), Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa (PML-N), Asif Saeed Kirmani (PML-N) in vice of Dr Babar Awan, Aitzaz Ahsan (PPP), Ishaq Dar (PML-N), Khalida Parveen (PPP), Nuzhat Sadiq (PML-N) and Kamran Micheal (PML-N) .
The 12 Senators, who will complete their six-year tenure from Sindh, are Murtaza Wahab (PPP) in vice of Saeed Ghani (PPP), Colonel (retd) Tahir Hussain Mashhadi (MQM), Karim Ahmed Khawaja (PPP), Maulana Tanveerul Haq Thanvi (MQM) in vice of Mustafa Kamal, Raza Rabbani (PPP), Mukhtar Ahmed Dhamrah (PPP), Syed Muzafar Hussain Shah (PML-F), Muhammad Farogh Naseem (MQM), Taj Haider (PPP) in vice of Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Nasreen Jalil (MQM), Saher Kamran (PPP) and Hari Ram (PPP).
Similarly, 11 Senators from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who will retire next year include Ahmed Hassan (PPPP), Baz Muhammad Khan (ANP), Haji Saifullah Khan Bangash (PPP), Azam Khan Swati (PTI), Muhammad Talha Mehmood (JUI-F), Nisar Muhammad (PML-N), Shahi Syed (ANP), Farhatullah Babar (PPP), Ilyas Ahmed Bilour (ANP), Rubina Khalid (PPP) and Zahida Khan (ANP).
The Senators from Balochistan, who will complete their term include Muhammad Daud Khan Achakzai (ANP), Maulana Hafiz Hamdullah (JUI-F), Mir Israr Ullah Khan Zehri (BNP-A), Muhammad Yousaf (PPP), Nawabzada Saifullah Magsi (PPP), Saeedul Hassan Mandokhel (PML), Sardar Fateh Muhammad Muhammad Hasni (PPP), Mufti Abdul Sattar (JUI-F), Rozi Khan Kakar (PPP), Naseema Ehsan (BNP-A) and Rubina Irfan (PML).
Likewise, four Senators from FATA including Hidayatullah, Hilalur Rehman, Malik Najmul Hassan and Muhammad Saleh Shah (independents) and two from federal capital Osman Saifullah (PPP) and Mushahid Hussain Sayed (PML-Q) will retire on March 11, 2018.
The elections for 52 of the total 104 seats of Senate are scheduled to be held on March 3 through secret balloting.
Each provincial assembly elects its representatives on the basis of the party strength in that house under the procedure set for the Senate elections.
Half of the Senators of 104-member house retire after every three years on completion of their six-year term.
The Senate comprises 23 members from each of the four provinces, eight from FATA and four from the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
Each province has 14 general and nine reserved seats — four for women and technocrats each while one seat is reserved for a non-Muslim Community member.
Source: DND/APP
