QUETTA: All 11 Senators from Balochistan, consisting of seven for general seats and two each for women and technocrats, have been elected unopposed ahead of the April 2 elections following the withdrawal of other candidates.
Nine senators were declared winners a day earlier, with the remaining two technocrat seats awaiting results.
Among the nine candidates elected unopposed were former caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, returning as an independent senator on a general seat.
Maulana Abdul Wasey from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) and Bilal Khan Mandokhail from Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have secured reserved seats in the Senate.
Others include Syed Nasir and Agha Shahzeb Durrani from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Sardar Umar Gorgej from PPP, John Buledi from National Party, Aimal Wali from Awami National Party, and Ahmed Khan from JUI-F on general seats.
PML-N and PPP secured the two women’s seats with Rahat Jamali and Hasna Bibi, respectively.
Similarly, in Punjab, seven senators were elected unopposed on general seats, including PML-N’s Pervaiz Rasheed, Nasir Mehmood, and Talal Chaudhry, along with Mohsin Naqvi and Ahad Cheema. The newly-elected parliamentarians also include Raja Nasir Abbas, backed by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), and Hamid Khan.
However, elections will take place for the five seats reserved for technocrats, women, and minorities in Punjab.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) scheduled Senate elections for April 2 to fill the 48 vacant seats, following the expiration of incumbent senators’ terms last week.
