Shahbaz Sharif to contest for National Assembly from Swat

MINGORA: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) provincial head Amir Muqam has submitted nomination papers for the party’s central President Mian Shahbaz Sharif after his formal decision to contest for the National Assembly seat NA-3 Swat in the upcoming general election.

Accompanied by District Nazim Swat Muhammad Ali Shah and other party leaders, Amir Muqam submitted the nomination papers with the district returning officer here at Saidu Sharif. “It is an honour for the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in general and Swat in particular that Shahbaz Sharif is contesting election from Swat,” Amir Muqam told reporters.

He added that they had invited Shahbaz Sharif to contest the election from Swat and he had accepted their wish.

The PML-N leader said the entire country was aware of the development projects undertaken by Shahbaz Sharif in Punjab, adding that if he was elected uplift schemes would be executed in Swat too.

Criticising Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Amir Muqam said that Imran Khan had taken another U-turn and issued party tickets to those electables who had recently joined the PTI.

The PML-N leader said that Imran Khan had claimed that he would end the politics of electables in the country as it was a big hurdle to the promotion of the young and devoted political workers in mainstream politics. “But now the PTI chief has changed his views by giving party tickets to the electables who had recently changed their loyalties,” he pointed out.

Shahbaz Sharif’s opponent from the PTI in NA-3 Swat would be Saleemur Rahman, who had won the seat in the 2013 general election.

His late father Mahboobur Rahman too had won this seat, but he was affiliated to the PPP. For a while, Saleemur Rahman had developed differences with the PTI leadership, but he was able to reconcile with the party later and was thus awarded the ticket to contest again on the PTI ticket in the July 2018 polls.

It is pertinent to mention that Amir Muqam will contest the election from the National Assembly constituency, NA-2 Swat and two provincial assembly constituencies, PK-2 Swat and PK-4 Swat.