Inconclusive rendezvous: High-level huddle over senate polls yields no results

PML-N claims all parties willing to talk, more meetings likely.

KHYBER AGENCY/ PESHAWAR:

As horse-trading continued to remain a major concern ahead of Senate elections, a high-level huddle between the opposition and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government remained inconclusive.

A meeting attended by K-P Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan and Chief Minister Pervez Khattak was held late Sunday night. Participants hoped to reach a consensus and ensure candidates were elected unopposed to the Upper House. However, conflicting demands meant the political leaders were unable to reach an agreement.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz parliamentary leader Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha told The Express Tribune the governor had requested political leaders to convene for this meeting. He claimed the meeting was productive and the parties remained open to discussion.

However, Nalotha added Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl sought two days’ time to consult their party chief. The PML-N leader said another meeting was likely on Tuesday (today). Nalotha denied that the chief minister had rejected the opposition’s demand for an additional seat. “Khattak said the opposition’s share amounts to five Senate seats, while the PTI was taking seven as it had to accommodate its two allied parties,” he said.

The PML-N parliamentary leader said they were ready to accommodate the Upper House aspirants of Pakistan Peoples Party and Awami National Party. Some reports suggested PPP wanted two seats in the Senate with its five MPAs and this led to a deadlock as other parties with greater numbers in the assembly made similar demands.

However, PPP parliamentary leader Syed Mohammad Ali Shah denied his party made any such demand. He said they have nominated candidates for four senate berths, adding ANP, JUI-F and other parties have done the same.

He said that there was no immediate agreement, but both the opposition and the government agreed to continue talks.

Apart from the chief minister and governor, the meeting was also attended by opposition leader Maulana Lutfur Rehman, K-P PPP President Khanzada Khan, ANP General Secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Jaffar Shah, Qaumi Watan Party parliamentary leader Sikandar Sherpao, Naltoha and Local Government Minister Inayatullah Khan.

FATA Candidates

Like the rest of the country, the upcoming Senate elections have awoken the Upper House aspirations of politicians in Khyber Agency.

Rumours are also afloat that a Senate seat was being sold for a staggering Rs400 million, while MNAs from the agency have started focusing their attention on development schemes.

A new coalition called the Khyber Political Alliance has emerged in the agency with the aim of mobilising political parties. One of the strongest candidates for a Senate seat is Al-Haj Taj Mohammad Afridi, the brother of incumbent MNA from the agency, Haji Shah Jee Gul Afridi.

Fata has four allotted seats in the senate for which 43 candidates have submitted nomination papers. Of the total, 36 were accepted. Besides Taj, Momin Khan—brother of MNA Nasir Khan—Al-Haj Syed Nawab Afridi and Al-Haj Nazir Afridi are also in the running. 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2015.