By Muhammad Luqman
The members of Pakistan’s national and provincial legislatures will elect 52 senators in March 2018 as six-year term of half of the members of the upper house, Senate expires by that time.
Of the senators who are set to bid adieu to the Upper House of Parliament, 12 each are from Punjab and Sindh, 11 each from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, two from Islamabad and four from the tribal areas., according to media reports.
Prominent among those who will retire include Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani (PPP), Finance Minister Ishaq Dar (PML-N), opposition leader Aitzaz Ahsan (PPP), Mushahid Hussain Sayed (PML-Q), Farhatullah Babar, Azam Swati (PTI), Kamran Michael, Shahi Syed (ANP), Kamil Ali Agha, Talha Mehmood, Tahir Hussain Mashhadi (MQM), Nasreen Jalil (MQM) and Ilyas Bilour (ANP).
Eighteen of the 52 senators belong to the PPPP, nine to the PML-N, five are from the ANP, four each belong to the PML-Q and the MQM, three to the JUI-F, two to Balochistan National Party-A and one each to the PTI and the PML-F.
Five independents will also complete their tenure next year, according to the Senate website.
The PML-Q will have no representation in the house after March as all its four senators will retire.
The senators from Punjab who will retire next year include M Hamza (PML-N), Kamil Ali Agha (PML-Q), Muhammad Mohsin Khan Leghari (Independent), Muhammad Zafarullah Khan Dhandla (PML-N), Saud Majeed (PML-N) in place of Malik Rafique Rajwana (Lahore governor), Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa (PML-N), Asif Saeed Kirmani (PML-N) in place of Dr Babar Awan (who quit the party and joined PTI), Aitzaz Ahsan (PPPP), Ishaq Dar (PML-N), Khalida Parveen (PPPP), Nuzhat Sadiq (PML-N) and Kamran Michael (PML-N).
The 12 senators who will complete their six-year tenure from Sindh are Murtaza Wahab (PPPP) in place of Saeed Ghani (who became an MPA in Sindh), retired Col Tahir Hussain Mashhadi (MQM), Karim Ahmed Khawaja (PPPP), Maulana Tanveerul Haq Thanvi (MQM) in place of Mustafa Kamal (qho quit MQM), Raza Rabbani (PPPP), Mukhtar Ahmed Dhamrah (PPPP), Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah (PML-F), Muhammad Farogh Naseem (MQM), Taj Haider (PPPP) in place of Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Nasreen Jalil (MQM), Saher Kamran (PPPP) and Hari Ram (PPPP).
The 11 retiring senators from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be Ahmed Hassan (PPPP), Baz Muhammad Khan (ANP), Haji Saifullah Khan Bangash (PPPP), Azam Khan Swati (PTI), Muhammad Talha Mehmood (JUI-F), Nisar Muhammad (PML-N), Shahi Syed (ANP), Farhatullah Babar (PPPP), Ilyas Ahmed Bilour (ANP), Rubina Khalid (PPPP) and Zahida Khan (ANP).
Four senators from the tribal areas, Hidayatullah Hilalur Rehman, Malik Najmul Hassan and Muhammad Saleh Shah (independents) and two from Islamabad, Osman Saifullah (PPPP) and Mushahid Hussain Sayed (PML-Q), will also retire next year.
The senators from Balochistan who will complete their term are Muhammad Daud Khan Achakzai (ANP), Maulana Hafiz Hamdullah (JUI-F), Mir Israrullah Khan Zehri (BNP-A), Muhammad Yousaf (PPPP), Nawabzada Saifullah Magsi (PPPP), Saeedul Hassan Mandokhel (PML-N), Sardar Fateh Muhammad Hasni (PPPP), Mufti Abdul Sattar (JUI-F), Rozi Khan Kakar (PPPP), Naseema Ehsan (BNP-A) and Rubina Irfan (PML-N).
