The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has officially unveiled its slate of candidates for the upcoming Senate elections, following approval from party chief Imran Khan.
The announcement, made on Saturday, marks the resolution of ongoing controversies surrounding the selection of nominees for the vacant seats in the upper house of parliament, set to be filled on April 2.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has scheduled the Senate polls for next month to fill the 48 seats left vacant after the six-year terms of the incumbent senators expired last week.
Today, March 16 was the deadline for the submission of nomination papers, as per the electoral body’s schedule.
Earlier, there were uncertainties within the PTI ranks regarding the finalization of candidate names by Imran Khan.
Senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser had expressed doubts about whether Khan had approved the candidates or not.
However, PTI quelled the confusion by releasing the list of candidates “approved” by Khan through the party’s official channels.
The list includes candidates from various provinces, with Murad Saeed, Faisal Javed Khan, Mirza Afridi, Irfan Saleem, and Khurram Zeeshan contesting for general seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Notable technocrat nominees from the province include Azam Swati and Irshad Hussain, while Ayesha Bano and Rubina Naz are nominated for women’s seats.
In Punjab, Hamid Khan, Zulfi Bukhari, Dr. Yasmeen Rashid, and Sanam Javed are among the candidates nominated for general, technocrat, and women’s seats.
Earlier announcements by PTI leader Mian Aslam Iqbal had caused confusion, prompting Asad Qaiser to raise questions regarding the final approval of candidate names by Imran Khan.
