Yusuf Raza Gilani Chairman, Sardar Syedal Deputy Chairman Senate take oath

Islamabad: The leader of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani was elected Senate Chairman unopposed by the government coalition while Sardar Syedal Khan Nasir of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was elected Deputy Chairman Senate unopposed.

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar performed the duties of the presiding officer in the Senate meeting.

As soon as the Senate session started, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protested and PTI's Ali Zafar expressed his opinion that the session should be postponed until the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa senators come.

Later, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar as the presiding officer administered the oath to the newly elected senators after which the members signed the roll of members.

Faisal Vawada, who was elected as an independent, and Maulana Abdul Wasi of Jamat-e-Ulema Islami (JUI) did not take the oath of membership of the Senate.

Ishaq Dar said that the election of the chairman and deputy chairman of the Senate will be held at 12:30pm. Scrutiny of the papers of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Senate will be held at 11:00pm, the papers to the Secretary Senate Office should be submitted before 11:00am.

Yusuf Raza Gilani, the candidate for the chairman of the Senate, submitted his nomination papers and Syedal Khan Nasir, the candidate of the government alliance for the deputy chairman of the Senate, submitted his nomination papers, while none of the two candidates submitted their papers.