PESHAWAR: In an unusual display of cross-party cooperation, all 11 Senate seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been filled without a single vote cast, as both the government and opposition struck a rare political agreement.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secured six of the seats, following internal reconciliation that saw disgruntled members of the party withdraw their nomination papers. Sources inside the party confirmed that after several rounds of talks, PTI’s top leadership convinced dissenting candidates to step down, smoothing over factional divides.
PTI’s political committee ultimately confirmed the final slate of candidates, which remained largely unchanged from earlier announcements.
“There will be no Senate polling in KP—every seat has been settled through mutual agreement between the ruling party and the opposition,” a source involved in the negotiations said.
Under the arrangement, PTI will occupy six seats, while the remaining five have been distributed among opposition parties. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) are each set to take two seats, and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is expected to gain one.
Among the notable PTI figures heading to the Senate are Murad Saeed, Faisal Javed, Pir Noorul Haq Qadri, and Mirza Khan Afridi. Azam Khan Swati has been nominated for the technocrat slot. Despite earlier rumors, Taimur Khan Jhagra’s name was not on the finalized list.
A reserved seat for women will be filled, with Mashaal Yousafzai named as the replacement for Dr. Sania Nishtar, who previously held the position.
