Pakistan elects first female...

Support from allies is likely to give it a dominating majority. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) won 12 and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of former cricket star Imran Khan came third with six.

“Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has secured a clear majority in the Senate polls,” the party announced late Saturday on its official Twitter account. The victory came despite legal setbacks. Last July the Supreme Court toppled PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif from the premiership over corruption allegations. Ahead of the Senate vote, the court also barred Sharif from leading his party, forcing all PML-N candidates officially to stand as independents because they had been selected by the axed chief.

Following the win, Sharif called on his supporters to keep fighting at the ballot box in the face of pressure from the courts. “First they removed my name and then they removed the Muslim League’s name but members of parliament and provincial assemblies rejected that decision,” he told thousands of supporters at a rally in the eastern city of Gujarat yesterday. Despite the court rulings, the PML-N has won a string of by-elections following the ousting of Sharif. The Sharif clan and their supporters have repeatedly denied corruption, suggesting Nawaz is the victim of a conspiracy driven by Pakistan’s powerful military establishment. — AFP