Wahab denies reports of grouping in PPP over mayoral candidate

Sindh Law Adviser Barrister Mutaza Wahab has denied reports that there is any division within the Pakistan Peoples Party on the issue of finalising the party’s nominee for the post of Karachi’s mayor. Talking to media persons on Tuesday a day after the PPP announced him as its nominee for the Karachi mayoral poll, Wahab said it was pointless to assume that there was any grouping in the PPP when it came to dealing with the issue of finalising the candidate for the mayoral post.

He said some seven to eight persons belonging to the PPP had applied for the post, including him. Other candidates for the mayoral post included senior leader Masroor Ahsan, Najmi Alam ande Liaquat Askani, he added. The law adviser said the PPP leadership after due deliberations and consultations had chosen him for the post of Karachi’s mayor. He expressed gratitude to the PPP leadership and activists for reposing confidence in him, saying that the mayoral post was an important responsibility and he would do his best to diligently perform this duty.

Wahab said it was utterly wrong to assume that he didn’t have the backing of PPP leader Faryal Talpur for his nomination. He said Talpur had played an important role in his political upbringing and the growth of his career in active politics. He said he had learnt a lot from Talpur who always trains the PPP’s activists in the field of politics. He informed the journalists that the emergence of any groupings was out of the question within the PPP, saying that issue-based intra-party differences could emerge but the party had the tradition of resolving these problems amicably.