FARUKH SHEHZAD

ISLAMABAD, MAR 12: Sadiq Sanjrani has won the election for the Senate chairman's post. He received 48 votes. PDM candidate Yousuf Raza Gillani received 42 votes, according to Presiding Officer Muzaffar Hussain Shah. Seven votes polled for the PDM candidate were rejected.

Mirza Mohammad Afridi was elected as the Senate deputy chairman with 54 votes. His rival, PDM's Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, received 44 votes.

JUI's Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri became the first senator to cast his vote for the Senate chairman election as the polling started at 3pm. It continued till 5pm.

Ninety-eight senators cast their votes. PML-N's Ishaq Dar and JI's Mushtaq Ahmad Khan didn't vote.

Celebrations began in Sanjrani’s native Chaghi district. His supporters and BAP workers took to streets with flags and chanted slogans in favour of the newly elected Senate chairman.

PPP to challenge Sanjrani’s victory

The Pakistan Peoples Party has decided to challenge Sadiq

Farooq H Naek said the instructions didn’t say where exactly the vote should be stamped or that it should be inside the box.

The party has two options, according to PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar. It can either challenge Sanjrani's victory in court or bring a no-confidence motion against him.

“We reject this election,” Raja Pervez Ashraf said. “The PDM rejects this election.”

Ashraf was speaking to reporters along with PML-N's Ahsan Iqbal and PPP's Qamar Zaman Kaira.

“We will not let them snatch this election,” Qamar Zaman Kaira said. The government couldn’t stop the opposition’s long march through such tactics, he added.

“We have the option of a no-confidence motion,” Ashraf said. “The PDM will take a decision in this regard.”

'PDM won today'

“The PDM won today. We got 49 votes and the government’s

The PML-N leader said if the voter stamped the name of the

“We will challenge it in court,” Iqbal said, adding that

'Nothing will happen'

But Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed ruled out the

“In Pakistan, it has become a pattern that those who lose

Forty-eight new members, who were elected by the country's MNAs and MPAs on March 3, took oath after the session started at 10am.

The nomination papers of all four candidates contesting the election had been approved. Here are the contenders:

• Senate chairman: PTI-backed Sadiq Sanjrani vs PPP's Yousaf Raza Gillani
• Deputy chairman: PTI's Mirza Mohammad Afridi vs JUI's Maulana Ghafoor Haideri

A tough and close competition was expected as the winner needed a simple majority of 51. The house comprises 100 members but 98 members voted as Ishaq Dar is in London and Mushtaq Ahmad was not supporting either candidate. Both PTI and PDM have claimed that they have the support of 51 senators.

At the start of the session, opposition senators claimed that spy cameras were installed over polling booths and demanded action.

The presiding officer assured them that new polling booths would be set up, while the Senate secretary said the matter would be investigated.

Voting procedure

Syed Muzafar Hussain Shah, who is presiding over the special session, explained the voting procedure to the senators.

He said that ballot papers have been printed in Urdu. The names of the candidates are in Urdu and there is a box next to it.

The senators will have to stamp the ballot paper in the booth. "If there is any mistake, then approach the secretary and he will ensure that you are issued another ballot paper."

He advised the senators to fold the ballot properly to make sure that the ink does not spread and it leads to their vote not being counted.

The names of the senators will be called out in alphabetical order and they must then approach the Senate secretary. They will be handed a green ballot paper. "The green ballot paper is for the Senate chairman."

Senators cannot carry their mobile phones, cameras, or any electronic device to the polling booth.

Spy camera controversy

The PPP senators staged a protest before the session started. They claimed that spy cameras have been installed over polling booths.

Politicians react

Here's what different politicians, senators, MNAs have said about the spy camera accusations:

Yousaf Raza Gillani: We have the majority but they have more tactics. The whole spy camera controversy is embarrassing for the entire nation. This has brought international humiliation to the country.

Maryam Nawaz: The Constitution mentions secret votes and not secret cameras. Shame on the government for stealing votes. Every time these people try to find new ways to steal votes, they are caught red-handed. The situation has become so bad that they resorted to spying on their own members. This is historical humiliation.

Musadiq Malik: The Election Commission should take notice of this. People responsible for this should be disqualified as they are neither amin nor sadiq.

Maulana Ghafoor Haideri: Those who installed spy cameras should be ashamed. He said that he is confident that these tactics will not decrease his chances of winning as the opposition has a clear majority in the Senate.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi: The government should try to defeat the opposition fair and square rather than engaging in different tactics. They can only defeat us through the use of cameras.

Shibli Faraz: The opposition's sinister plan of installing cameras in polling booths has been exposed. They are using all “criminal tactics” because they know they don’t have the support of the majority. This is why the PDM was against open balloting.

Faisal Javed: The opposition senators think of themselves as James Bond 007. How did they know where spy cameras have been installed? They directly went to the polling booths and this shows that they knew something we didn’t.

Imran Ismail: The matter should be investigated. This was nothing but drama. Look at the technology now. Who uses such spy cameras anymore?

New senators

Here are all the candidates that were elected senators during the elections on March 3.

Islamabad

General seat
PPP's Yousaf Raza Gillani

Women seat
PTI's Fawzia Arshad

Punjab

General seats
Kamil Ali Agha (PML)
Afnanullah Khan (PML-N)
Sajid Mir (PML-N)
Irfanul Haque Siddiqui (PML-N)
Saifullah Sarwar Khan (PTI)
Aon Abbas (PTI)
Ejaz Ahmad Chaudhry (PTI)

Technocrat seats
Syed Ali Zafar (PTI)
Azam Nazeer Tarar (PML-N)

Women seats
Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur (PTI)
Saadia Abbasi (PML-N)

Sindh

General seats
Sherry Rehman (PPP)
Saleem Mandviwalla (PPP)
Taj Haider (PPP)
Shahadat Awan (PPP)
Jam Hussain Dahar (PPP)
Faisal Vawda (PTI)
Faisal Subzwari (MQM-P)

Technocrat seats
Farooq H Naek (PPP)
Saifullah Abro (PTI)

Women seats
Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan (PPP)
Khalida Ateeb (MQM-P)

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

General seats
Mohsin Aziz (PTI)
Liaqat Khan Tarakai (PTI)
Shibli Faraz (PTI)
Faisal Saleem Rehman (PTI)
Zeeshan Khan Zada (PTI)
Hidayatullah Khan (ANP)
Attaur Rehman (JUIP)

Technocrat seats
Dost Muhammad Khan (PTI)
Muhammad Humayun Mohmand (PTI)

Women seats
Sania Nishtar (PTI)
Falak Naz (PTI)

Non-muslim seat
Gurdeep Singh (PTI)

Balochistan

General seats
Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti (BAP)
Manzoor Ahmed (BAP)
Prince Ahmed Umer Ahmedzai (BAP)
Muhammad Abdul Qadir (IND)
Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri (JUIP)
Umer Farooq (ANP)

Technocrat seats
Kamran Murtaza (JUIP)
Saeed Ahmed Hashmi (BAP)

Women seats
Samina Mumtaz (BAP)
Naseema Ehsan (IND)

Non-muslim seat
Danesh Kumar (BAP)

Rigging accusations

The government and opposition parties have accused each other of horse-trading and buying votes of senators during the elections.

On Thursday, some PML-N members claimed that the agencies have been attempting to rig the election.

ISI officials are making phone calls to PML-N senators in an attempt to make them switch their loyalties in the March 12 election for Senate chairman, PML-N's Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Thursday. Maryam Nawaz, the party's vice-president, also claimed that party members have been receiving calls telling them to not to vote for PDM's candidates.

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COURTESY SAMAA

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ANKARA, MAR 12: Ankara is currently discussing why and how an olive branch could be extended to Egypt. Strong signals that maritime jurisdiction negotiations could resume reinforces hope that the problems in the Eastern Mediterranean can be resolved with a win-win approach.

In fact, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu signaled in the last days of 2020 that Turkey would be open to a diplomatic rapprochement with Egypt based on the countries common and national interests in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The two countries' foreign ministers and intelligence officials have maintained diplomacy and communication through backdoor channels, despite the irreparable strain on political relations.

In this respect, it did not come as a surprise when last week Çavuşoğlu announced that negotiations on a maritime authorization agreement with Egypt would be initiated. During his interview with Sabah this week, the minister elaborated on the prospective talks. “There is contact between us and Egypt at the level of both intelligence and foreign ministries. I have met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Samih Shukri many times. For example, during the U.N. meetings, we had long discussions about how to fix relations. According to the course of relations, a maritime jurisdiction negotiation can be started. We want to talk to everyone because we are in favor of fair sharing,” Çavuşoğlu said.

Çavuşoğlu also said that negotiations could begin depending on the course of relations. Soon after, similar statements by Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalın also confirmed the talks.

In an interview with Bloomberg this week, Kalın described Egypt as the brain and heart of the Arab world and expressed that Turkey could turn a new page with Cairo and the Gulf countries. “Having dialogue may develop our bilateral and regional relations. This also applies to the other four Gulf countries. We don’t have insolvable problems with any Arab country. We could turn a new page with Egypt and Gulf countries for regional peace and stability,” he said.

So, what does Turkey's opening of a new chapter with Egypt and the Gulf have to do with the issues in the Eastern Mediterranean?

Turkey has long argued that disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean can be overcome if resources are equally shared through mutual respect of the rights of countries with rights and borders in this geography. For this reason, he argues at every opportunity that an international conference should be convened.

Turkey argues that fair sharing of natural resources to be extracted from the region will be an important tool for peace in the region. Ankara also believes that this approach depends on the sharing of all countries in the region and the use of resources in accordance with the principles of legitimacy and fairness on the basis of international law.

These views are also being tirelessly conveyed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to the European Union, especially in the recent increase in telephone traffic with European leaders, such as French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. On the other hand, although attempts to sabotage the agreements between Turkey and Egypt have been observed, Ankara’s consultations with Greece continue decisively.

First, Egypt announced its bid for hydrocarbon exploration in Eastern Mediterranean where the tender area was determined by taking into account the continental shelf boundaries that Turkey had reported to the U.N. under its agreement with Libya. It was certain that Ankara would react positively to this decision, which it did according to the latest statements through the highest officials in Turkey, including Defense Minister Hulusi Akar. Last weekend he also called Egypt’s decision to respect Turkey’s continental shelf while carrying out seismic exploration in the Mediterranean Sea an important development.

In Ankara, experts say that despite Turkey and Egypt's political differences, their economic cooperation, especially in the region, has great advantages for both sides. Egypt's acceptance of the continental shelf and EEZ agreements, which Turkey has also guaranteed under international law and the U.N., is now considered the first and most important step for this cooperation to actualize.

So, what will follow these steps from Ankara's point of view? Ankara has shown at the highest level that it can sit at the table and negotiate maritime authorization agreements with Cairo. Now it is Cairo's turn to give a clear and swift response to this proposal.

Turkey expects Cairo to respect the process and not commit diplomatic or legal violations against Ankara, just as it has so far.

In fact, in the agreement it signed with Greece, Egypt drew the border of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), leaving the region east of the 28th meridian open-ended, which extends to the middle line between it and Turkey in the Mediterranean. This was clearly a declaration that Egypt did not fully accept the Greek theses against Turkey, even though it had made a deal with Athens.

Ankara also expects Egypt not to allow the process to be undermined by pressure or guidance from countries such as Greece. The fact that Greece is able to come between two countries that share a wide common ground and heritage, having had relations for centuries, is very surprising in this sense.

On this issue, Erdogan said in August last year: “The view of the Turkish people against the Egyptian people is different. In other words, it is impossible for the Egyptian people and the Turkish people to look at each other and their solidarity with each other to be in line with the Greek people. Therefore, this understanding, which is revealed by our civilization values from history, should be noticed by its rulers rather than by the Egyptian people.”

Now, senior Egyptian and Turkish diplomats are keeping the channels of dialogue open, and the two countries are taking a diplomatic stance in accordance with the principle of non-confrontation on international platforms.

The two countries have had intelligence contacts in place for a long time who they would especially confer to on issues like the Eastern Mediterranean, Libya and Syria. If the goal of normalization is achieved, the two countries will start working on a more concrete road map that will encompass the economy, diplomacy and politics not just to encourage bilateral relations but to cooperate in solving regional conflicts.

Moreover, Ankara believes that turning a new page with Cairo will usher in a new era in its relations with Gulf countries. Turkey has proved that it is the party that tries to maintain calm, diplomatic relations even when confronted with the opposite, particularly during U.S. President Donald Trump's administration when Turkey's relations with Gulf countries were strained.

Diplomatic relations between Turkey and Egypt were maintained at the charge d'affaires level since 2013, when the military coup took place giving rise to the current Egyptian administration. Currently, 3,500 Turkish citizens reside in Egypt, which is Turkey's largest trading partner on the African continent. Frequent meetings and mutual visits are held between Turkish and Egyptian entrepreneurs despite the restrained political relations.

Given the cold nature of Egypt and Turkey's relationship over the last seven years and the two nations being estranged from one another, the current state of the relationship can be considered a triumph. Now Ankara awaits the statements and steps to come from Cairo.

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COURTESY dailysabah

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ISLAMABAD, MAR 12: A Senate election already marred with controversies became murkier on Friday after "hidden" cameras were found in the polling booth ahead of voting for the chairman and deputy chairman slots.

The special session got off to a noisy start as the opposition, led by PPP's Raza Rabbani, claimed that "secret cameras" had been installed at the polling booth. "This is against Article 226 of the Constitution," he said, as the house resounded with "shame, shame".

The opposition demanded that an investigation be carried out into who was "in control of the Senate".

The protest prompted the presiding officer to issue directives for changing the polling booth. "The current polling booth should be removed, another should be set up afresh," he said.

Earlier in the day, PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar claimed that he and PML-N Senator Musadiq Malik found "spy cameras" above the polling booth.

On his twitter account, Malik said: "What a freaking joke. The Senate polling booth has secret /hidden cameras installed. SO MUCH FOR DEMOCRACY."

He also claimed to have found another "hidden device" in the polling booth.

Meanwhile, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry responded to Khokhar's tweet, stating that it looked "more like a CCTV cable" and that "spy cameras are far more sophisticated".

The Senate secretary should look into this claim, he said.

In another tweet, he shared an "example" of a spy camera. "The camera can be fitted in the head of a nail. The detection of such cameras is impossible. In all likelihood, the CCTV camera cable has been misunderstood as a spy camera," he theorised.

Govt vows to 'expose' opposition

Speaking at a press conference, Information Minister Shibli Faraz vowed to investigate the incident and "expose" the opposition.

Many Senate officers were appointed during the tenure of the opposition parties, he said. "They have been doing this for a long time; this is evident from the video of Ali Gilani teaching MNAs how to waste votes," he said.

He said that the PTI's stance has always been clear and is in front of the people. "We have always wanted corruption to be removed and open voting to come into play."

He maintained that a new polling booth should be set up, adding that the opposition had conspired to install the cameras. The minister stated that if the government wished to make such moves, it would have done so during the Senate polls.

"Even though they are thieves, they want to portray themselves as the victims. We will uncover who was behind this," he said. "How did they know that cameras were present? They did it themselves," he said.

Senators take oath

During the morning session, Senator Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah administered the oath to the 48 members. After taking the oath, the Senators signed the roll of members.

Announcing the schedule for the election of the Senate deputy and chairman, the presiding officer said that the candidates can file their nomination papers in the office of the Senate secretary by noon. The scrutiny process will take place at 12:30pm. The candidates can withdraw their nomination papers any time before the election.

The session has been adjourned till 3pm.

Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani (PPP) and Maulana Abdul Gha­foor Haideri (JUI-F) have been fielded by the Pakistan Democratic Movement as its joint candidates for the posts of chairman and deputy chairman, respectively.

The government had alre­a­dy announced that outgoing Senate Chairman Muha­mmad Sadiq Sanjrani will be its candidate for the office for another term. On Thursday, Prime Minister Imran Khan nominated Senator Mirza Moha­m­mad Afridi — a billionaire from erstwhile Fata — for the post of the deputy chairman.

Who do the numbers favour?

Though the opposition enjoys a clear majority in the Senate to win both the seats, political pundits say it is going to be a close contest and any deviation from party policy and wastage of votes in secret ballot can translate into an upset.

Back in August 2019, Senate Chairman Sanjrani had survived no-confidence vote when only 50 votes were cast in favour of the opposition’s motion when 53 votes were needed of the 104-member House for success of the move, 45 senators had voted against the motion and five votes were rejected. Interestingly, earlier when the resolution was moved for no-confidence motion, 64 opposition members had supported it.

Now, the senators of the ruling coalition include 27 members of the PTI, 12 of Balochistan Awami Party, three of MQM, three independents and one each of PML-Q and GDA. The opposition senators include 21 of PPP, 17 of PML-N, excluding Ishaq Dar who has not taken oath of the office, five of JUI-F, two each of ANP, BNP-Mengal, PkMAP and National Party and one of Jamaat-i-Islami. The opposition collectively has 52 members in the House excluding Mr Dar, against 47 senators belonging to the ruling coalition. As the Jamaat-i-Islami has decided to abstain from voting, the difference between the vote bank of the government and the opposition has narrowed down to four.

After the Senate elections on March 3, the House strength has been reduced to 100 senators and now it consists of 99 senators, as Ishaq Dar is in self-exile and has not taken oath as a senator. Likewise, JI Senator Sirajul Haq has reportedly announced to stay away from the election and this brings the strength of the opposition to 51 senators.

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COURTESY DAWN NEWS

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Raja Furqan

RAWALPINDI, MAR 11: The district health administration in Rawalpindi has sealed the School after the detection of several Covid-19 cases. According to the report, School in Rawalpindi named Government girls high school Muslim town sealed where several COVID-19 cases were detected.

So far, several educational institutes have been closed in the twin cities due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in select areas, the district health officer said.

The virus cases have been rising in the educational institutions since they were reopened and resumed regular classes. Meanwhile, Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood on Wednesday announced the closure of schools in several cities from Monday, March 15 following a spike in coronavirus cases.

"All educational institutions in Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Gujrat, Multan, Rawalpindi and Sialkot will remain closed from March 15 till 28," adding that the closure will be counted as a spring break.

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LAHORE, MAR 11: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), in a meeting with the six franchises of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Thursday, decided to aim for holding the 20 remaining matches of PSL 6 in Karachi in June of this year.

In a statement, the PCB said the decision was unanimously agreed upon by the franchises and the cricket body "after taking into consideration all factors relating to event organisation".

It said that the month of June had "emerged as the most preferred and practical window" because the national team had commitments in March/April and late August/September.

The tournament was postponed midway earlier this month after seven people participating in PSL 6 tested positive for Covid-19.

At the time, the PCB had said the decision had been taken out of consideration for the health and well-being of all participants in the tournament.

While the PCB had suggested the windows of May, June and September, the franchises were interested in holding the games during March-April or June, Dawn reported earlier.

In its statement today, the PCB said "the remaining 20 matches in June are now being planned following the men's national cricket team's return from Zimbabwe on May 13 and before their departure for England on June 26".

"The PCB management will now look into the operational and logistical challenges and revert to the franchise owners and stakeholders," it added.

Meanwhile, Pakistan on Thursday (today) reported more than 2,000 virus cases for the first time since January amid fears of a potential third wave of the novel coronavirus in the country.

According to official data, Pakistan reported 2,258 cases in the last 24 hours, marking the first time the country has reported over 2,000 infections since January 29, when 2,186 cases were recorded.

An NCOC (National Command and Operation Centre) press release stated that 42,164 tests were conducted on March 10, which translates into a positivity rate of 5.3 per cent, while the total number of active cases in the country is 17,627 as of March 11.

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COURTESY DAWN NEWS

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These EXCLUSIVE clicks are the Nephew of Farukh Shehzad / Editor-In-Chief –  DIPLOMATICNEWSPK.BLOG

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