LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) backed Dr Asad Ashraf on Thursday won the by-poll for Nehal Hashmi’s Senate seat in Punjab Assembly with 298 votes.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s Dr Zarqa Taimur managed to score 38 votes. The Pakistan People’s Party had not put up any candidate for the Senate seat.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, who cast the first vote, told reporters that the PML-N candidates were party members before and will remain so after the vote as well.
“Those attempting to make the PML-N disappear [from the face of the Earth] will vanish themselves,” he added.
The Punjab Assembly has around 315 members on the treasury benches and around 53 in opposition, thus ensuring a certain win for the PML-N backed independent candidate.
The election was held on the seat vacated by Nehal Hashmi, who was disqualified by the Supreme Court on February 1 for committing contempt of court.
Nehal Hashmi had threatened the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) appointed by the Supreme Court for interrogating Nawaz Sharif and his family members over their ownership of foreign properties.