Asad terms concerns of PTI leaders ‘justified’

KARACHI: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Monday termed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Sindh leaders’ concerns over the distribution of Senate tickets “justified” and said the provincial leaders are rightly raising their objection over allocating the Senate ticket to Faisal Vawda, who is a sitting MNA.

Talking to Hamid Mir in Capital Talk, Umar said Vawda has also valid justification to express his preference to move to the Senate because he has been facing a [dual nationality] case where there is a risk that the decision may go against him.

“The PTI honoured Vawda’s preference because he is a party’s central leader and a federal minister,” he said. Senate tickets being given to Vawda and wealthy construction contractor Saifullah Abro have created a rift among the PTI leaders in Sindh. On Sunday, a group of the PTI’s key leaders from three zones of rural Sindh wrote a letter to Governor Sindh Imran Ismail to show their anger and demand the party’s high command to take back tickets from Vawda and Abro.

Shakoor Shad and Dr Amir Liaquat Hussain, PTI’s MNAs from Karachi, have also reportedly opposed the decision of the party’s central leaders to award tickets to Vawda and Abro.

Meanwhile, Vawda said on Monday the PTI’s decision was “the most important for me after Allah’s” and that rifts among the ruling party were “not a big deal”. In an exclusive interview with Geo News, Vawda said he could not comment on the dual nationality case since it was being heard by the court.