President Asif Ali Zardari has named Nayyar Hussain Bukhari as PPP’s candidate for the post of Senate chairman, while Sabir Baloch has been designated as candidate for the office of deputy chairman. Nayyar Bukhari, a long standing party loyalist, is currently the leader of the house in the Senate. As chairman he will act as President of Pakistan in the absence abroad of the president or for any other reason. He will replace Farooq Naek who held the office for three years. The election will be held on Monday. President Zardari took leaders of coalition parties into confidence over his nominations. The president’s spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, said: “The President welcomed the allied parties to the meeting and conveyed that the PPP wants to nominate Senator Nayyar Hussain Bukhari for the slot of chairman and Senator Sabir Baloch from Balochistan for the slot of deputy chairman.” He said all the allied parties endorsed  Zardari’s suggestion. “They also felicitated Nayyar Bukhari, who was present in the meeting, on his nomination for the office of Senate chairman,” he said. The meeting was attended by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Mushahid Hussain Syed of PML-Q, Asfandyar Wali Khan and Afrasiab Khattak of the Awami National Party, Babar Khan Ghauri and Tahir Mashhadi of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Mir Israrullah Zehri, Munir Khan Orakzai and Engineer Shaukatullah. ?