Opposition, sans PPP nominate Fazl as presidential candidate

ISLAMABAD: All the opposition parties excluding Pakistan Peoples’ Party have nominated Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman as their presidential candidat, Geo News reported citing unnamed sources.

Earlier, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) refused to address PML-N’s reservations over Aitzaz Ahsan’s nomination for the slot, The News has learnt. The presidential election will now see three candidates in the run, including Arif Alvi, Aitzaz Ahsan and Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

On Sunday, Maulana Fazl admitted that he had failed in his efforts after Asif Ali Zardari refused to show any flexibility over Aitzaz Ahsan’s nomination. Shahbaz Sharif also refused to accept the nomination without certain assurances by the PPP.

Right after the meeting with the PPP, the PML-N and its opposition allies, held a meeting late Sunday night in which Ahsan Iqbal, Ameer Muqam, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and others were present.

Sources said after sharing the state of affairs with its allies and discussing the situation, it was decided that Maulana Fazlur Rehman will be fielded for the Presidency by the PML-N and its allies.