Three JUI-F senators did not vote for PML-N in Senate polls: sources

ISLAMABAD: An inquiry into the defeat of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidates in the recently held Senate elections revealed that three of its allied party members from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl did not vote for the party, sources said on Wednesday.

Sources said that from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Senator Mirza Afridi didn’t vote for the PML-N's candidate for Senate chairman and deputy chairman.

Meanwhile, out of the seven votes that the PML-N coalition fell short of, two senators who didn’t vote for the candidates still remain unknown.

Sources further added that JUI-F Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri only voted for the ruling party candidates.

During a recent meeting between former PML-N president Nawaz Sharif and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, the former prime minister conveyed his reservations to his longtime ally.

Fazl, in the meeting, assured Nawaz that he will hold an inquiry into the matter.

PML-N Senator Kulsoom Parveen, who hails from Balochistan, also admitted to voting for rival candidate Sadiq Sanjrani.

The ruling PML-N lost the race to appoint their favoured candidates to the top Senate slots as Sadiq Sanjrani, an opposition-backed candidate from Balochistan, was appointed Senate chairman on Monday.

Sanjrani secured 57 votes out of possible 103 votes and was administered the oath by presiding officer Sardar Yaqub Khan.

Sanjrani, an independent, had been backed by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).

According to reports, Sanjrani also had the support of independent senators elected from the FATA.

The PML-N candidate Raja Zafarul Haq, who was backed by the National Party (NP), Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), PML-Functional and Awami National Party, received 46 votes.