ISLAMABAD -- A lawmaker from Balochistan has been elected chairman of Pakistan's Senate, Dawn reported.
Balochistan Senator Sadiq Sanjrani was sworn in Monday (March 12) as chairman after he secured 57 out of the total 103 cast for the seat. He is the first-ever senator from Balochistan to hold the position.
Sanjrani was elected to the Senate as an independent March 3. Voters that day chose half of the Senate to serve six-year terms.
A coalition of opposition parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and other independents from Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, backed Sanjrani, Dawn reported.
Raja Zafarul Haq of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) finished second in the contest.
