BAP wins six Senate seats from Balochistan.

Byline: Saleem Shahid

QUETTA -- The Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), the ruling party in the province, has become the fourth largest party in the Senate after winning seven more seats of the upper house from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to unofficial results of Wednesday's Senate elections, the BAP now has 12 seats in the upper house.

The ruling alliance in Balochistan won eight out of 12 Senate seats from Balochistan. The BAP clinched six seats while its ally Awami National Party (ANP) won one seat. Another successful candidate had the support of the BAP.

The BAP also won one seat from KP.

The opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) secured four seats from Balochistan.

PDM clinches four seats; one each goes to ANP, independent candidate

Business tycoon Muhammad Abdul Qadir was the winner of the first seat whose result was announced. He was declared winner in the first count, getting 11 votes which were more than the required votes for the success of a candidate from Balochistan.

Abdul Qadir, who was earlier given PTI ticket, contested the election as independent candidate after withdrawal of the party ticket by PTI high command as party leaders and workers from Balochistan opposed his nomination. Mr Qadir managed to muster the support of the BAP and Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan declared him a candidate of the party.

Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, secretary general of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, also won a seat in the first count by securing 11 votes.

BAP candidates who were elected in the Senate election from Balochistan included Manzoor Ahmed Kakar, Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti and Prince Agha Omer Ahmedzai on general seats, Syed Saeed Ahmed Hashmi on technocrat seat, Samina Mumtaz Zehri on...