PML-N seeks PPP’s support for NA-249 by-polls in Karachi

KARACHI: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has sought support from the Pakistan Peoples Party for its candidate, Miftah Ismail, who is contesting the upcoming by-election in Karachi in the National Assembly constituency NA-249.

The PML-N sought support to this effect as its central leader and former prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, visited the Bilawal House on Saturday and met PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

The meeting took into consideration affairs related to the upcoming by-election in Karachi.

Bilawal said that he would give a response to the request of the PML-N after consulting with his party.

The meeting was also attended by PPP leaders Sherry Rehman and Naveed Qamar and PML-N candidate Miftah Ismail.

Separately, the PPP chairman chaired a meeting at the Bilawal House to review the preparations being made to hold a public meeting of the party in Rawalpindi on April 4, 2021, to mark the death anniversary of former prime minister and PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Bilawal was given a briefing on the preparations for the public meeting. He asked the party’s office-bearers to expedite the process of preparations in this regard.

ANP, PSP also in the race

Other political parties have also intensified their activities for the closely-watched contest. The constituency fell vacant after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Faisal Vawda, who was also serving as the federal minister for water resources, resigned from his National Assembly membership after casting his vote in the recently-held Senate elections. He has also been elected to the Senate from Sindh.

The by-election will be held on April 29, according to the ECP schedule. On Sunday, two political parties, the Awami National Party (ANP) and Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), held meetings to discuss the by-election and announced that they would take part in the poll.

In its parliamentary board meeting headed by provincial president Shahi Syed, the ANP announced that the party’s provincial vice-president and former town nazim Baldia Town Haji Aurangzeb Buneri would be its candidate in the NA-249 by-poll.

Similarly, the PSP in its central meeting decided to take part in the NA-249 by-election. In the meeting, three candidates — the party supremo Syed Mustafa Kamal, Vice Chairman and former MPA Syed Hafeezuddin and Member National Council and District Keamari President Humayun Usman submitted their nomination papers. PSP leaders told The News that the party would finalise one of the three candidates for the by-poll.

PTI’s Vawda had won the seat during the 2018 general elections after defeating PML-N President and former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif by a narrow margin. Vawda had secured 35,344 votes while Shahbaz, polled 34,626 votes.

TLP candidate Mufti Abid Mubarak and MQM-P candidate Aslam Shah had ranked third and fourth after bagging 23,981 and 13,534 votes respectively. The Jamaat-e-Islami’s Syed Ataullah Shah had ranked fifth by securing 10,307 votes, while Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Qadir Mandokhel polled a mere 7,236 votes and ranked sixth in the competition.

PTI fields Amajd Afridi for NA-249 by-poll, seeks support from MQM-P: After carrying out an internal discussion to finalise a strong candidate against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s candidate, Miftah Ismail, for the upcoming by-poll in NA-249, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has fielded one of its youth leaders, Amajd Afridi, from the constituency.

It was announced at a press conference on Saturday by PTI Karachi president and MPA Khurram Sherzaman, who said that the party’s parliamentary board had chosen Amjad Afridi from among 19 aspirants.

PTI central leader Faisal Vawda resigned from the NA-249 seat after casting his vote in the recently-held Senate elections. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced the by-election will take place on April 29.

Sherzaman said that Afridi had been associated with the party for the past 16 years. He asked the voters in the constituency not to vote for any corrupt political parties.

It is expected that the PML-N’s Ismail will be a joint candidate for the Pakistan Democratic Movement, an alliance of opposition political parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl and the Awami National Party.

In response to it, the PTI has also decided to seek support from its allied political parties, particularly the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, for the by-poll.