Interviews not smooth sailing for PPP’s 2nd-rate Senate candidates from Sindh

What is your name? What is your father’s name? Why do you want to become a senator? If you are made a senator at this time, how you will deal with the memo issue? When did you join the party? What sacrifices have you rendered for the party? Why did you enter politics?
These were the questions asked from second-rate leaders of the Pakistan People’ Party (PPP) during the party’s interviews for Senate seats that have been going on since Monday.
The PPP has received around 180 applications from its party members in Sindh for the Senate seats. The PPP has fixed Rs 30,000 as application fees. The sources said the PPP has received 600 applications from across the country. The total amount comes to almost Rs 20 million.
The interviews are being conducted by a parliamentary board comprising 19 senior members of the party.
The Senate elections in Sindh are expected to be unopposed because an understanding exists between the coalition partners in the province and the Center.
Eight members of Senate would be from the PPP, three from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and one from the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F).
 The board which is conducting interviews includes Jahangir Badar, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Qaim Ali Shah, Khursheed Ahmed Shah, Faryal Talpur, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Jam Saifullah Dharejo, Ayaz Soomro, Agha Siraj Durrani, Makhdoom Jamil-u-Zaman, Rukhsana Bangish, Shagufta Jumani and Murad Ali Shah.
Those PPP members who have been interviewed so far include Taj Haider, Makhdoom Rafiq-u-Zaman, Sarfaraz  Rajar, Saeed Ghani, Waqar Mehdi, Kazi Asad Abid, Parvez Ansari, Ismail Brohi, Malik Muhammad Khan, Noorunissa Abro, Dr Ayub Shaikh, Surinder Vilasai, Hina Dastagir, Begum Kausar Amir, Nazir Gaho, Umer Jat, Malik Fayyaz, Muhabbat Khan Niazi, Javed Baloch, Ghulam Qadir Palijo, Habib Memon, Iftikhar Hussain, Mahesh Malani, Dr Iqbal Narijo, Nafees Usmani, Nasreen Chandio, Sadiya Javed, Humera Alwani, Noorjehan Baloch, Sharmila Farooqi, Anis Farooqi and Parveen Qaimkhani.
Sources said 12 seats of Senate from Sindh would fall vacant. The PPP would get eight out of them and two can go the MQM’s way. But after negotiations, the PPP might give another seat to the MQM.
The PML-F has no Senate seat from Sindh, but with the PPP’s support, it might get at least one seat from the province. If this formula is goes through, the elections might be unopposed in the province.
 Every candidate has to get 25 votes from the MPAs to win a seat. There will be seven general seats and two for technocrats, two for women and one for a minority member.
 PPP Sindh General Secretary Taj Haider told Pakistan Today that President Asif Ali Zardari has formed a committee that would negotiate special seats for technocrats and female. “The PPP may give one female or technocrat seat to the MQM,” he added.
Sources within the MQM said the party has not started the process of Senate elections yet because the Election Commission has not announced the schedule yet.
The sources also said the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid has also demanded a Senate seat from Sindh from the PPP.