PM Imran Khan congratulates Sadiq Sanjrani, Mirza Mohammad Afridi for securing top Senate slots

• PM Imran Khan says he was glad to see top Senate posts went to people from Balochistan and former FATA.
• Premier says Sadiq Sanjrani and Mirza Mohammad Afridi's victory in line with policy of mainstreaming marginlised parts of Pakistan.
• Senate chairman election concluded Friday evening with government-backed candidates Sadiq Sanjrani and Mirza Mohammad Afridi emerging as victors.

Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated on Saturday Sadiq Sanjrani and Mirza Mohammad Afridi for securing the top slots in the Senate, saying that he was glad that the posts went to people from Balochistan and the tribal areas.

"Congratulations to Sadiq Sanjrani and Mirza Mohammad Afridi on winning Senate chairman and Deputy chairman elections," tweeted the premier. 

PM Imran said he was "happy" to see that the top two slots of the Senate went to Balochistan and the former federally administered tribal areas. 

He said that the victory was in line with his policy of "mainstreaming those parts of Pakistan that have been marginalised or left behind in the past".

Read more: Opposition all set to challenge Sadiq Sanjrani's Senate win in court today

The much-awaited Senate chairman election concluded Friday evening with government-backed candidates Sadiq Sanjrani and Mirza Mohammad Afridi emerging as the victors.

In the race for chairman, Sanjrani defeated Opposition candidate Yousaf Raza Gillani with 48 votes, while Gillani received 42 votes.

On the other hand, government candidate Afridi won the election for the deputy chairman of the Senate with 54 votes, defeating Opposition's Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, who grabbed 44 votes.

Read more: Govt candidates emerge victorious in hotly-contested Senate chairman election

Senator Syed Muzafar Hussain Shah of the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, who was the presiding officer, administered the oath of chairman to Sanjrani.

During counting, seven votes cast for Gillani were rejected. According to the presiding officer, the stamps were not placed correctly on the ballot paper which rendered them null and void.