Mohsin Naqvi to contest for Senate polls from Punjab next month

ISLAMABAD: Former caretaker chief minister Punjab Syed Mohsin Naqvi has confirmed that he would contest for the Senate election from Punjab next month when elections will be held for sixty seats of the Senate for a period of six years.

In a brief chat with The News here Saturday, Naqvi said that he would be the candidate of all for the Upper House of Parliament since he hasn’t made up his mind for assuming a political identity.

To a query about getting the interior ministry, Naqvi said that he had meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President-elect Asif Ali Zardari in the day but no final decision had been made about the assignment he would be looking after. Discussions are underway on it, he said.

The former caretaker chief executive of Punjab was happy that his performance in the province as caretaker chief minister had been widely appreciated and said he was grateful to all those who helped him and made it possible.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Qaiser has said if the government makes former caretaker chief minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi interior minister, it should forget reconciliation with PTI.

Speaking in Geo News programme Naya Pakistan, Asad Qaiser said, “We believe that there should be stability in the country so that economy could improve. The Electoral College is not complete yet. Earlier, there were other types of theft, now vote thieves have also come forward.”

He said, “We are being forced to leave the legal option and come to the streets. If the mandate is not accepted, we will come to the streets. If we are not heard, we will come to the streets and fight for our rights.”

He said that the vote of people should be accepted and should be respected. “We will fight the legal battle first and stage protests.”

Asad Qaiser said if the government makes former caretaker chief minister of Punjab Mohsin Naqvi interior minister, then it should forget any agreement with PTI.

“There is no backdoor negotiation of PTI with anyone. If the institutions do not provide relief, we will protest strongly,” he said.