ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday issued notifications of 47 newly elected senators, however blocked the notification of five members of the Upper House because of their alleged dual nationality. Nuzhat Sadiq, Haroon Akhter, Chaudhry Sarwar and Sadia Abbasi from Punjab and independent candidate Khuda Babar from Balochistan did not receive the notification. The court hearing on the reported dual nationality for these members will take place today. Eight senators from Punjab – Rana Mehmood ul Hassan, Mussadik Masood Malik, Rana Maqbool Ahmed, Dr Asif Kirmani, Shaheen Khalid Butt, Hafiz Abdul Kareem, Ishaq Dar and Kamran Michael – have received their notifications as independent members of the Upper House. All of them belong to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) but they contested the election as independent candidates due to a Supreme Court ruling in a case related to Elections Act, 2017. Syed Muzafar Hussain Shah of Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), Farogh Naseem of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Moula Bux Chandio, Mustafa Nawaz Kokar, Sayed Muhammad Ali Jamot, Mian Raza Rabbani, Imamuddin Shouqeen, Dr Sikandar Mandhro, Rukhsana Zuberi, Quratulain Marri, Keshoo Bai and Anwar Lal Dean of Pakistan People’s Party-Parliamentarians (PPPP) have been issued notifications from the Sindh province. In KP, Faisal Javed, Muhammad Ayub, Fida Muhammad, Azam Khan Sawati and Mehar Taj Roghani of Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Behramand and Robina Khalid of the PPPP, Muhammad Talha Mehmood of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Mushtaq Ahmed of Jamat-e-Islami (JI) and independent members Syed Sabir Shah and Dilwar Khan – who were in fact backed by the PML-N – got notifications from the ECP. Muhammad Akram and Muhammad Tahir Bizenjo of the National Party (NP), Molvi Faiz Muhammad of JUI-F and seven independents Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, Ahmed Khan, Anwar ul Haq Kakar, Sardar Shafiq Tareen, Naseebullah Bazi, Abida Azeem and Sana Jamali have been issued notifications from Balochistan province. Shammim Afridi, Mirza Muhammad Afridi, Hidayat Ullah and Hilal ur Rehman were issued notification from FATA while Asad Ali Khan Junejo and Mushaid Hussain Sayed have been declared returned candidates from the federal capital. Published in Daily Times, March 10th 2018.