Senate elections: PM constitutes his party’s parliamentary board

Senior party leaders sidelined; board has no representation from South Punjab.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has constituted the ruling party’s parliamentary board to choose the candidates who will contest the March 3 Senate elections. The move apparently comes at the expense of South Punjab, as well as some senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders.

Seven members of the 14-member board have themselves applied for Senate tickets.

According to a handout issued by the PM House, the parliamentary board will be chaired by PM Nawaz while Finance Minister Ishaq Dar will be its convener.

The board’s other members are Raja Zafar ul Haq, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Khawaja Saad Rafique, K-P Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the PML-N’s K-P President Pir Sabir Shah, PML-N’s Sindh President Ismail Rahu, the PML-N’s Balochistan president Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, Senators Sardar Yaqob Khan Nasir, Nuzhat Sadiq and the PM’s Personal Assistant Asif Kirmani.

The official handout did not say when the board will hold its first meeting; however, party sources said the PM will call its meeting in the coming days to discuss and finalise party nominees for the Senate election.

The PML-N has far received 140 applications from candidates for the Senate election and the parliamentary board will conduct interviews of these candidates.

Sources said it was Ishaq Dar, who finalised the parliamentary board and he apparently did not consult with senior leadership on the board’s composition.

This is apparent from the fact that the board does not have any representation from South Punjab – a vast region from where the PML-N bagged 48 National Assembly seats during May 2013 general elections.

Dar has not only ignored South Punjab but also ignored the PML-N heavy weights like Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif – regarded as Dar’s rival within the party.

Another issue with the board is that out of its 14 members, seven are themselves candidates for Senate seats. Raja Zafarul Haq, Pervaiz Rashid and Sardar Yaqob Nasir whose term is going to end on March 11 2015 will reappear for another six-year term and party has announced that it will award them tickets.

Four other board members Jhagra, Pir Sabir Shah, Ismail Rahu and Kirmani have also applied for Senate tickets for the upcoming elections. A parliamentary board is supposed to be a neutral body that conducts interviews and finalises names for Senate tickets.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2015.