ISLAMABAD, 8 January 2003 — Pakistan’s Islamist alliance has selected four members of its Central Supreme Council, Shah Ahmed Noorani, Samiul Haq, Allama Sajid Mir and Allama Sajid Naqvi, to run for the Senate.
"All the six supreme council members, heads of component parties of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), would become members of the Parliament with the completion of Senate elections," a party source said.
MMA chief Noorani would be the only candidate of MMA from Sindh, and "he would be the Majlis’ proposed Senate chairman after he wins the Senate elections in cooperation with the Pakistan People’s Party in that province," another source revealed.
The MMA sources said the party would field no other candidate except Noorani who would be the religious party’s candidate from Sindh.
"We are hoping that he would be able to win the Senate seat as we have an alliance with the Pakistan People’s Party in the Sindh province, and definitely, he (Noorani) would be our candidate for chairmanship of Senate," a Majlis insider said.
Meanwhile, it was learned that the MMA still has differences over awarding tickets as its Supreme Council member Haq is demanding two Senate seats from the North Western Frontier Province.
"Haq has threatened to resign from the Majlis if he is not awarded two tickets," a source said.
The MMA supreme council is scheduled to meet in Islamabad today to discuss the party tickets issues and to decide on the recommendations made by respective provincial leaderships.
The alliance’s frontier province chief Qazi Abdul Lateef, MMA Secretary Information Pir Ejaz Hashmi, Professor Ibrahim and Professor Abdul Ghafoor are the likely candidates to be offered the party ticket for the Senate election.
"Ghafoor may contest from some other province and not from Sindh," a source said.
Negotiations with former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League for Senate elections are also at advance stages, as former ministers of finance Sartaj Aziz and Ishaq Dar may contest for Senate seats from the frontier province and Punjab respectively in cooperation with the MMA, the sources further said.
"Mir is the joint candidate of MMA and the Nawaz League," was the opinion being touted. "At present, we (MMA) are in contact with the People’s Party and Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League in center, and Sindh and Punjab provinces, whereas we have no contacts with the Pakistan Muslim League-Q on this particular issue so far," an alliance source said. (Internews)
