Pakistanis will no longer be hoodwinked by PTI, says Ghani

The nomination papers of Colonel (retd) Asad Alam Niazi of the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) candidate for the by-election on the National Assembly constituency NA-244 in Karachi were accepted on Saturday.

The nomination papers of four more PPP candidates — Farhan Ghani, Qamar Ahmed Khan, Hassam Shamsi and Khawar Shah Tirmizi — were also accepted. These four are the covering candidates for Niazi. The scrutiny of the nomination papers of all these candidates took place at the office of the returning officer in District East.

Sindh Labour and Human Resources Minister Saeed Ghani, who is also the PPP’s Karachi president, and the proposers and seconders of all the candidates were also present on the occasion.

Ghani said the PPP had fielded candidates to contest the upcoming by-elections in all the nine constituencies of the city. He reiterated the PPP’s confidence that the party’s candidates would win all these seats.

He expressed surprise at the lawmakers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf that they had first resigned from the NA, then after their resignations had been accepted, they were again contesting the by-polls to be held in the city. He said the people of Karachi as well as the rest of the country would no more be hoodwinked by the PTI and its Chairman Imran Khan.

Chairing his party meeting on Thursday, Ghani had said the PPP has fielded candidates to contest the upcoming by-elections in all nine constituencies of Karachi and would win all the seats on the basis of votes to be cast by residents of the city.

He had said the office-bearers and activists of the People’s Party in all districts of the city had worked excellently in the recent local government polls in the city.

He had said the presidents and general-secretaries of the PPP in every district of Karachi should cooperate with the teams, which would shortly visit their areas for population census.

Meanwhile, the RO in District Korangi accepted the nomination papers of PPP candidates Ali Rashid and Nasir Rahim Lodhi for contesting the upcoming by-election on the NA-241 constituency. Rashid had earlier been an MNA representing the same constituency during his affiliation with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. As for Lodhi, he had earlier also been a PPP candidate for the same constituency, and is now the covering candidate for Rashid.