Nine Senators on technocrat/ulema seats (two from each province and one from the Federal Capital) are retiring before the forthcoming Senate elections. One out of the nine technocrats namely Senator Muhammad Azam Khan Swati of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) resigned from his seat on December 9, 2011, and joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI).
Finance Minister Senator Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) is due to retire by 12 March.
Well-placed sources in the PPP told Business Recorder that the Party would re-elect Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh on technocrat seat from Sindh Assembly as the Party wants him to continue as Finance Minister. Sources revealed that Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh has already submitted an application to the PPP for Senate seat from Sindh Assembly.
As many as four Senators of Pakistan Muslim League (Q) will retire on technocrat seats; these are S.M. Zafar and Haroon Khan from Punjab, Saeed Ahmed Hashmi from Balochistan and Wasim Sajjad from Federal Capital. Senators Rahmatullah Kakar of JUI-F from Balochistan, Ilyas Ahmed Bilour of ANP from KP and Dr Abdul Khalid Pirzada of MQM from Sindh are also retiring from the Upper House of the Parliament by 12 March.
Political sources in JUI-F told Business Recorder that the Party will succeed in the re-election of Rahmatullah Kakar on technocrat/Ulema seat from Balochistan Assembly.
Muhmmad Ishaq Dar of PML-N is retiring from the Senate who had been elected on general seat from Punjab. The sources said that there is maximum chance for Ishaq Dar to be re-elected on technocrat seat in the coming election.