Former PM Gilani calls for MQM leaders' support in Senate chairman poll

Islamabad [Pakistan], March 7 : Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader and former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani met Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leaders to call for their support in the upcoming Senate chairman election.
According to a report by Geo News, although the Pakistan Democratic Movement has yet to announce a candidate for Senate chairman and deputy chairman, Gilani will likely be standing for the chairman post on behalf of the opposition, which will be held on March 12 via secret balloting.
The deputy chairman will also be elected on March 12 and the MQM has expressed its wishes to have one of its party members take up the post.
MQM convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that it is the party's "good fortune" to have met the former Prime Minister.
"The PPP has done a lot of work with the MQM in the past," said Gillani on Saturday while adding that during his Prime Ministership the MQM had been very supportive.
During the Senate elections, he had defeated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) leader Hafeez Shaikh in Islamabad by 169 to 164 votes, according to unofficial results.
The result came as a blow to Khan's PTI as his party and its allies control the National Assembly, and the implication is that some members or allies may have defected when they voted by secret ballot.