50 new Senators sworn in: Naek and Jamali elected unopposed Senate chief, deputy Chairman

Pakistan Peoples Partys Farooq H Naek and Pakistan Muslim League Qs Jan Muhammad Jamali have been elected unopposed Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Senate. They were declared unopposed by the Secretary of the Senate as no one else filed nomination papers within the prescribed time.
The house resumed its sitting early on Thursday morning after a break of one day to elect the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Senate, besides administering oath to 50 new Senators. After the oath of the newly elected Senators, presiding officer Colonel Mushidi (Retd) adjourned the proceeding at 12 pm to meet again at 3 pm for the election of Chairman and Deputy.
Three-hour break was announced for the filing as well as scrutiny of the nomination papers of the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman. However, no other candidate filed his or her nomination papers for the seat of Chairman and deputy against Farooq H Naek and Jan Muhammad Jamali.
Among the new Senators, 22 belonged to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), six to Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), six to Awami National Party (ANP), five independents, four from Fata, two of Jamait-e-Ulema Islam (F), two of Balochistan National Party, one of National Party and of Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam).
Later, responding to point of orders, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik said that intelligence reports had indicated terrorists attacks as well as target killing of political leadership during the long march processions. Malik said he had been told by the intelligence agencies that terrorists could enter Punjab with the processions of the long march, which might result in an untoward incident.
He said the reports said that there might be target killing during the long march. Malik said that he had written a letter to PML (N) Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharif to take care while participating in the public rallies. He said that the government had increased the security of the Sharif brothers being former prime minister and chief minister. He said government was concerned and did not want anybody to harm the political leadership.
Malik said that traders, members of the chambers of commerce and industry and civil society activists approached him and requested to keep the participants of long march away from residential areas of Islamabad to avoid any untoward incident.
Malik held out assurance to the Upper House that the members of the parliament and the provincial assemblies would not be arrested or detained during the long march. He said that the government was not against the long march as it was part of democratic process.
He said the lawyers community had been contacted to change their venue of sit in because the Constitution Avenue housed diplomatic enclave, Presidency, Parliament Hose and the Supreme Court and the government affairs were being run from there.
He said: "We have proposed alternate venues for sit-in in the Federal capital, but the lawyers did not accept the governments offer." He again asked the organisers of the long march to give their choice of venue in Islamabad other than the Constitution Avenue.
The Advisor said that the government would not allow any sit-in at the Constitution Avenue, and added if some one tried to take the law in hos hands, the law would take its own course. He asked the house to form a committee to work out modalities with the organisers of the long march and sit-in to avoid disturbance, which was a way forward to maintain peace and tranquility.
He stressed the need that all the political forces should unitedly work out a roadmap to bring the country out of the crisis. Regarding raids on the residences of Raja Zafar-ul-Haq and Zafar Ali Shah, the Advisor said that an inquiry had been ordered and the report would be submitted to the house in its next sitting.