KARACHI: Defections to Mustafa Kamal led Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) and self-imposed exile of some of its lawmakers is likely to prevent Mutahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Pakistan from reclaiming all five of its Senate seats among the 12 on which election is scheduled in early March. Discussions with lawmakers from major parliamentary parties in Sindh Assembly suggest that consultations have already started between the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and MQM-P MPAs who’re now in the Kamal-Anis Qaimkhani camp. Twelve senators elected from Sindh are retiring this year. Among these, six belong to the PPP, five to MQM-Pakistan and one to Pir Pagaro led Pakistan Muslim League -Functional (PML-F). PPP is the single largest party in Sindh Assembly with 94 MPAs. Besides Senate chairman Raza Rabani, other PPP members retiring this year are Taj Haider, Murtaza Wahab, Dr Karim Khawaja, Aajiz Dhamrah, and Hari Ram Kishwari Lal. PPP kick started its preparations for Senate polls with a joint meeting of the cabinets of Sindh and Balochistan on January 25. On January 30, the party formed a nine-member parliamentary board comprising co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, former Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, MNA Faryal Talpur, PPP spokesperson Farhatullah Babar, former prime ministers Raja Pervez Ashraf and Yousaf Raza Gillani, former Senate deputy chairman Sabir Baloch and PPP secretary general Nayyar Bukhari. Sources in the party say that the board has received at least 100 applications, including 15 for women and 12 for minority seats, not just from Sindh but also from other provinces. Almost all the retiring senators from Sindh, including Raza Rabbani and Taj Haider, have submitted applications for party tickets. Interviews with multiple sources in the party suggest that those most likely to get party tickets will be Raza Rabani, Taj Haider, Murtaza Wahab, Mola Bux Chandio, Humaira Alwani, Nida Khuhro, ND Khan and Najmi Alam. Some other notable applicants are Rashid Rabbani, Waqar Mehdi, Hina Dastagir, Nauman Sheikh, Javed Nayab Leghari, Abdul Qayyum Soomro, Surendar Valasi, and Hari Ram Kishwari Lal. However, when asked about the selection procedure, Sain Bux, an official of Bilawal House Karachi Media Cell, just said that the board members conducted the first round of interviews this Thursday. “The finalists would be announced soon.” Another official at Bilawal House, Surendar Valasi, was confident that the party would get 8 to 9 seats in the upcoming elections. MQM-Pakistan trails behind PPP with 50 MPAs, six of whom are now supporting PSP. These include Bilqees Mukhtar, Nadeem Razi, Sheraz Waheed, Muhammad Abdul Razzak and Irtiza Khalil Farooqui. An MQM-P lawmaker, Irum Azeem Farooque, has submitted her resignation to the speaker, and three who have been out of the country for some time (Adil Siddiqui, Khalid Bin Wilayat and Adnan Ahmed) are unlikely to return in time for Senate polls. This leaves the party with 40 lawmakers on whose votes it can count on March 3. The five MQM-P senators whose six-year term ends this year are Dr. Muhammad Dr Farogh Naseem, Maulana Tanveer-ul-Haq Thanvi, Nasreen Jalil, Tahir Mashhadi and Sehar Kamran. MQM-P’s parliamentary leader in Sindh Assembly, Syed Sardar Ahmed, admits that the party may not be able to retain all five seats in the election as some of its members were with the PSP now. However, he says the party is still trying its best to win as many seats as it possibly could. PML-F’s only senator who is retiring this year is Syed Muzaffar Shah. With its nine MPAs, PML-F is holding consultations with PML-N (seven PA seats in Sindh) and PTI (four PA seats in Sindh) in a bid to retain the seat being vacated by its member this year. However, neither of the two parties has yet made any public statement on the matter. Published in Daily Times, February 5th 2018.