3 sitting MNAs of PPP apply for Senate ticket

Besides 534 other applicants, three sitting MNAs of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) have also applied for party tickets for the upcoming Senate election, Pakistan Today has learnt reliably.
A source in the PPP told Pakistan Today that a total of 537 applications had been submitted with the party secretariat, including those of Mian Raza Rabbani, Aitazaz Ahsan, Husain Haqqani, Babar Awan, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Farhatullah Babar, Malik Hakmin Khan and Qasim Zia. “Today, the party’s parliamentary board meeting held at Zardari House interviewed applicants for Senate tickets from Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Interestingly, three MNAs have also applied for Senate tickets including Najamuddin Khan, Lal Mohammed Khan and Tariq Khattak,” the source added. The source said that the parliamentary board had interviewed some applicants while others would also be interviewed as the process continues.
The parliamentary board comprises Faryal Talpur, Jahangir Badr, Rukhsana Bagash, Syed Khursheed Shah and Syed Nayyar Bukhari. “The party leadership has decided to accommodate around seven party workers in the Senate who would be tasked with working for the cause of poor party workers, as ministers have failed to maintain connection with the grassroots workers. A majority of the applicants is from Punjab, while around 142 applicants have applied from Sindh,” the source said, adding that of the applicants, Raza Rabbani, Dr Hafeez Shaikh and Husain Haqqani have been short listed from Sindh. The source said president’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar and wife of former PPP stalwart Naseerullah Babar have also applied from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Senate ticket. If given a party ticket, Babar would have to relinquish the office of president’s spokesman. Those who have applied for Senate tickets include Riffat Daha, Chaudhry Munawar Anjum, Rana Aftab, Akbar Khawaja, Aurangzeb Burki, Zafar Chaudhry and Khurram Latif Khosa, elder son of Punjab governor. Shabina Riaz Shaikh, spouse of a close aide of president Zardari, Ahmed Riaz Shaikh, and Shahida Jabeen have also applied for party’s ticket on women’s quota and both are likely to win the PPP ticket on reserved seats for women. Though around two dozen applications have been received by the party secretariat from Balochistan, there is no word yet who would be given the party ticket. The PPP is holding negotiations with all political parties, including the PML-N, to get all Senators elected unopposed to avoid horse trading. It may be noted that all candidates were elected unopposed in the last Senate polls held in 2009 as a result of consensus decision by all political parties. Meanwhile, the source said the party’s central secretariat had also received some applications from party leaders for by-elections to be held in five constituencies that have fallen vacant after resignations filed by Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, Sardar Aseff Ahmed Ali, Khwaja Khan Hoti and Jahangir Khan Tareen. “Four applications have been received for by-election in NA-140, including those of Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed, in-charge People’s Labour Bureau, Imran Ali, Malik Jamil Ahmed and Sardar Qadir Ahmed,” the source added.