Nawaz, Zardari, Fazl agree to probe senators believed to be 'close' to Sadiq Sanjrani

• Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari, Maulana Fazlur Rehman hold telephone conversation to discuss PDM’s loss in election for Senate chairman and deputy chairman.
• Sources privy to the meeting say the three leaders have agreed to find out the reasons behind their loss in the elections.
• Meanwhile, Opposition sources say the seven senators who had voted on Gillani’s name did so on purpose.

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A day after the PDM candidates were defeated in the elections for Senate chairman and deputy chairman, Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari and Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Saturday agreed to probe all Opposition senators thought to be "close" to Sadiq Sanjrani.

The three leaders held a teleconference to discuss the PDM’s strategy following the alliance's loss in the elections for Senate chairman and deputy chairman despite holding a majority in the Upper House of Parliament (51 senators compared to opposition's 47).

Sources say the three leaders vowed to find the reasons behind the Opposition's loss in the polls.

“In chairman Senate elections, [7] votes were rejected [then] how did the government candidate get all the [7] votes in the election of deputy chairman?” Fazl reportedly asked Zardari and Nawaz during the conversation.

The trio  also deliberated on the PDM's preparations for the upcoming long march and the alliance’s future.

During the conversation, the PDM chief, Fazl, also reportedly told the leaders of the two largest opposition parties that there was "no point" in holding a long march without the Opposition resigning en masse from the assemblies.

Emergency meeting on Monday

Meanwhile, the PDM will hold an emergency meeting on Monday to review the Senate debacle. All parties have been asked to send their leaders to the conference.

The Opposition will discuss the current political situation and present a report on behalf of their party regarding the defeat.

They will also take the senior leadership into confidence on why 7 votes were rejected in polling for the Senate chairman position.

They will also address the concerns raised by the JUI-F over the defeat of its candidate for the deputy chairman slot.

Modalities for the March 26 long march will also be given a final shape in the meeting.

Seven votes wasted

The hotly-contested Senate chairman and deputy chairman elections concluded Friday evening, with government-backed candidates Sadiq Sanjrani and Mirza Mohammad Afridi emerging as victors in the secret polls.

In the race for chairman, Sanjrani defeated Opposition candidate Yousaf Raza Gillani with 48 votes, while Gillani received 42 votes. A controversy arose over 7 votes that were deemed rejected as the stamp had been placed on Gillani's name instead of in the blank space in front of it. The Opposition argued that the votes should be deemed valid, but the government candidates objected. The presiding officer eventually ruled that the votes would not be considered.

Senator Syed Muzafar Hussain Shah of the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, who served as the presiding officer of the chairman's election, administered the chairman's oath to Sanjrani.

In the subsequent election for Senate deputy chairman, government candidate Afridi won the election with 54 votes, defeating the Opposition's Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, who managed only 44 votes. The government candidate managed to receive 7 more votes than the government alliance's combined strength in the Senate (47). No votes were rejected in this round of voting.

Stamps were knowingly marked on name

Sources within the PDM confided to Geo News on Saturday that the seven senators whose votes were rejected for placing their stamp on Gillani’s name had done so deliberately.

They claimed that the seven senators in question were suspected by their parties of voting for Sadiq Sanjrani in the elections.

The Opposition sources said that senators were directed by the PDM leaders to place a stamp on the PPP candidate’s name to prove that they had not violated their party orders.

'PDM's long march to be contest between Maryam, Hamza'

Separately, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Shahbaz Gill reacted to the developments on Friday by raising doubt on PML-N's internal unity.

Gill claimed that the PDM's long march has been turned into a competition between its PML-N leaders Maryam Nawaz and Hamza Shahbaz.

The SAPM said Maryam had emerged as the "biggest loser" since Hamza Shahbaz was granted bail in NAB cases.

The SAPM wondered who among the two will become eventual chief of the PML-N, suggesting that the competition was tilted towards Hamza as Maryam had faced multiple defeats.

Capital braces for long march 

Earlier this month, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had shared a tentative plan for the alliance's upcoming long march, saying that caravans will arrive in Islamabad by March 30.

"The long march will begin from March 26. Caravans from every corner of the country will participate," he said. "We appeal to the entire nation to play their part in ousting this illegal and unconstitutional government," the JUI-F chief had said.

Fazl had said that another meeting of the Opposition's leadership will be held on March 15 to discuss the protesters' stay in the capital.

The PDM has decided to march on Islamabad till the the PTI-led regime resigns.