PTI reiterates support for Vawda, Abro for Senate polls

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Karachi president and MPA Khurram Sherzaman said on Saturday that disagreements were found in democratic parties, and all PTI members of the Sindh Assembly stood with decisions of Prime Minister Imran Khan and supported his nominated candidates in the Senate elections.

Along with the PTI candidates for the Senate, Saifullah Abro, PTI Karachi MPAs addressed a press conference at the Karachi Press Club.

Sherzaman said the PTI MPAs would support Abro and Faisal Vawda from Sindh, and, by showing unity, would foil the Pakistan Peoples Party’s “dirty business of sale and purchase” of votes.

The PPP government in Sindh had been taking revenge on the PTI and pressuring its MPAs mainly because they were not selling their votes, he said.

Meanwhile, PTI central leader and Member of National Assembly Aftab Siddiqui called on Prime Minister Imran Khan to discuss the political situation in the country and the Karachi Transformation Plan.

In the meeting held at the Prime Minister's Secretariat, Siddiqui also briefed Prime Minister Imran Khan in detail about the ongoing development work in his constituency NA-247 with federal funds, including the poor performance of the Sindh government.

Siddiqui said that Prime Minister Khan had a special focus on the development of Karachi. Other important issues had been discussed with the PM, he added.

He thanked the prime minister for the steps taken by the federal government for the development of Karachi.

The candidatures of both the PTI candidates of Senate from Sindh have been challenged in courts.

After Abro’s nomination papers were approved by the returning officer, the appellate tribunal disqualified him. However, the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday restored the returning officer’s order with regard to acceptance of Abro’s nomination papers and directed the Election Commission to include the name of the PTI candidate in the final list of Senate polls candidates from Sindh on the technocrat seat.

Likewise, Vawda’s candidature has also been challenged. The SHC on Friday issued notices to the Election Commission and Vawda on appeal against the acceptance of his nomination papers for the forthcoming Senate elections.

Petitioner Qadir Khan Mandokhel submitted in the petition that the acceptance of the nomination papers of Vawda was bad in law and had been passed by the returning officer without proper appreciation of facts and law.