Senator Abdul Qadir joins PTI, Shamim Afridi PPP

ISLAMABAD: Senator-elect Muhammad Abdul Qadir, who won the Senate polls as an independent candidate from Balochistan, has joined the PTI and reposed confidence in PM Imran Khan, Geo News reported Tuesday.

According to the report, the newly-elected lawmaker met PM Imran Khan in Islamabad and announced that he would be joining the party. The prime minister welcomed his joining.

Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak and PTI chief organizer Saifullah Niazi were also present in the meeting. Muhammad Abdul Qadir was the independent candidate for the Senate election with the joint support of PTI and the Balochistan Awami Party.

The local PTI chapters had revolted against the central party leadership for awarding the Senate ticket to Qadir after which the decision was taken back and the ticket was given to Syed Zahoor Agha, who later withdrew from the race.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary leader of the PPP in Senate Sherry Rehman hosted a dinner reception for the senators of the party which was attended by the PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Senator-elect and PDM candidate for the Chairman Senate Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani besides the PPP senators and parliamentarians.

In the dinner reception, independent Senator Shamim Afridi formally joined the PPP. Senator Shamim Afridi signed the document of his joining to the PPP in the presence of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Yusuf Raza Gilani.

It is to be mentioned that Shamim Afridi announced joining the PPP few days back along with independent member Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Amjad Afridi in Kohat and on Tuesday he formally joined the PPP.

The dinner reception was also attended by former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Deputy Chairman Senate Salim Mandviwalla, PPP Secretary General Syed Nayyer Hussain Bukhari, Syed Naveed Qamar, Faryal Talpur, Faisal Karim Kundi, Srdar Latif Khosa, Sindh Provincial Minister Saeed Ghani and other newly-elected and retiring senators of the PPP.

Sherry Rehman said the participation of the PPP senators at the dinner showed the strength of the PPP’s numerical strength in the Upper House of the Parliament. She said the opposition has a majority in the Senate and Prime Minister Imran Khan should accept the defeat in the upcoming election for Senate chairman on the basis of majority of the opposition members.