ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday congratulated Sadiq Sanjrani and Mirza Muhammad Afridi who were elected the previous day to the offices of Senate chairman and deputy chairman respectively.
In a tweet, Imran said he was “happy Balochistan [and] former FATA [Federally Administered Tribal Areas] got these two slots” in line with his government’s “policy of mainstreaming those parts” of Pakistan “that have been marginalised or left behind in the past.”
Congratulations to Sadiq Sanjrani & Mirza Mohammad Afridi on winning Senate Chairman & Dy Chairman elections. I am happy Balochistan & former FATA got these two slots in line with my policy of mainstreaming those parts of Pak that have been marginalised or left behind in the past
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 13, 2021
Sanjrani, who was backed by the government, received 48 votes, while Yousaf Raza Gillani, joint candidate of the 11-party Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), secured 42.
“I declare that Sanjrani has won this election,” presiding officer Zafar Ali Shah said on a live television broadcast of the vote. He said seven votes cast for Gillani were rejected due to wrong stamping, thereby handing Sanjrani victory.
The opposition parties rejected the results. “It is robbery,” said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secretary general Ahsan Iqbal, adding the results would be challenged in the court.
In the 100-seat Senate, the opposition holds 51 seats against 47 for the government and its allies.
