Hunaid Lakhani, Subhan Sahil PTI’s likely candidates for NA-249 by-election

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has formed a parliamentary board for the upcoming NA-249 Karachi by-poll, The News has learnt. A parliamentary board has been formed to award a ticket to a candidate for the by-election in NA-249 after Faisal Vawda submitted his resignation.

The board comprises federal minister Ali Zaidi, PTI Karachi president Khurrum Sher Zaman, former opposition leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi, and Karachi secretary-general Saeed Afridi. PTI sources told The News on Monday that Hunaid Lakhani and Subhan Ali Sahil were among the party’s aspirant candidates for the by-poll in the NA-249.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is yet to announce its decision regarding Vawda’s disqualification and the holding of the by-poll in the constituency. In the 2018 general election, the PTI’s Vawda defeated former Punjab chief minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif by a narrow margin.

The last NA-249 election was a close contest, with Vawda securing 35,344 votes to defeat Shahbaz, who polled 34,626 votes. NA-249 is among the constituencies of Karachi that border Balochistan and is exclusively composed of the entire Baldia Town, comprising Pashtun, Hazarewal (Hindko) and Muhajir populated neighbourhoods with a few Baloch and Sindhi villages.

Miftah Ismail

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Sindh secretary-general and former federal minister Miftah Ismail said on Monday he would do his best to live up to the trust placed in him by the party leadership by fielding him a candidate in NA-249.

He said the people of the constituency would respond in the by-poll to the rigging in 2018 general election. Ismail said Shahbaz Sharif had won by a clear majority in the past polls, but then his victory was turned into defeat. “The area’s voters know it and they will revenge it in the upcoming by-polls.”

Despite the worst rigging in the general election in 2018, the PML-N became part of the parliament and exposed “this fake government” at every forum, he said, adding that NA-249 had always been a hotbed of the PML-N.