Bilawal calls for a new charter of national reconciliation.
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI - Asif Ali Zardari, the joint candidate of PPP and the PML-N, and Sunni Ittehad Council’s candidate Mahmood Khan Achakzai are vying for the office of President.
Their nomination papers were filed on Saturday for the presidential elections to be held on March 9. The scrutiny of the nomination papers will be held on Monday. The president is elected by an electoral college comprising members of the Senate, National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies. Voting is held through a secret ballot.
Sindh Chief Minister (CM), Syed Murad Ali Shah on Saturday submitted the nomination papers of Asif Ali Zardari for the presidential elections to the Sindh High Court Chief Justice.
Syed Murad Ali Shah along with Members of Provincial Assembly (MPAs) Faryal Talpur, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Sharjeel Inaam Memon and others reached the High Court of Sindh and submitted nomination papers of Asif Ali Zardari for the election of the President of Pakistan to Chief Justice Sindh High Court Justice Aqeel Abbassi, who is the presiding officer for the presidential election.
Syed Murad Ali Shah has proposed while Syed Nasir Shah seconded the nomination papers of Asif Ali Zardari for presidential elections to be held on March 09, 2024.
While talking to media after submitting nomination papers, CM Sindh said Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) will request all parties including MQM- Pakistan to vote for Asif Ali Zardari in the Presidential election. He said that the party has requested MQM-P members to vote for PPP’s candidates for the election of speaker and deputy Speaker election. Replying to a question regarding MQM’s demand for amendment in Local Government Act, Shah said that in Sindh, Local Bodies were already powerful, MQM might have demanded local government powers for Punjab.
He said that PPP will approach legal forums for its grievances regarding polls.
The scrutiny of the nomination papers would be conducted on March 4 at Islamabad while election is scheduled on March 09, 2024.
A delegation led by President Awami National Party Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Aimal Wali Khan called on former President of Pakistan and President Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians, Asif Ali Zardari at Zardari House here Saturday.
Asif Zardari and Aimal Wali Khan discussed the current political situation. The ANP has announced its support for President Asif Ali Zardari in the Presidential election scheduled for March 9. He expressed his gratitude to the ANP leadership for their support in the Presidential election.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday said his party will work with all political groups, both inside and outside the provincial assembly, to solve Balochistan’s problems.
Speaking to the media alongside the newly-elected Chief Minister of Balochistan, Mir Sarfraz Bugti, and leaders of coalition parties in the provincial government, he expressed that the challenges facing Balochistan are intricate, making it difficult for any single party to address them alone.
He emphasized the need of the having consensus on a new charter of national reconciliation to address the issue and put the country on the path of development.
Bilawal said the provincial resources would be utilized to ensure the implementation of economic program in order to provide relief to the public as the PPP is forming government is Sindh and Balochistan.
He said the PPP is committed to resolving the multifaceted challenges faced by Balochistan.
Expressing concern for the recent damages in Gwadar due to heavy downpour, Bilawal requested Chief Minister Bugti to make it his first official visit. He also pledged to arrange relief efforts for the affected population.
Bilawal affirmed the party’s commitment to fighting extremists in accordance with the National Action Plan.
Referring to the PPP’s historical stance on terrorism, he mentioned the efforts made in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat and Waziristan regions, vowing to apply a similar approach in Balochistan. Bilawal also addressed the contentious problem of missing persons, particularly prevalent in Balochistan.
Proposing the formation of a parliamentary committee based on the party’s conciliation policy, he invited all political parties to collaborate in resolving this issue collectively.
He expressed gratitude to the political parties in parliament for not opposing Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti’s election, expressing confidence that the chief minister would address concerns and issues in good faith. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) on Saturday surprised many by nominating Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai as its candidate for the coveted office of President.
The announcement was made after incarcerated PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan endorsed his nomination. PTI leaders including Sardar Latif Khosa and Asad Qaiser also submitted his nomination papers in the Islamabad High Court.
The move gave an opportunity to the opponents of PTI to censure the party leader Khan who had been criticizing Achakzai in the past in public rallies. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that PTI “changed its brand” by nominating Achakzai – a nationalist leader from Balochistan.
However, PTI leader Ali Muhammad Khan dubbed the nomination of Achakzai as a “very strong message of national unity” from the jailed ex-premier Khan that the largest party of the country has picked a presidential candidate from Balochistan – a deprived province.
“It is Imran Khan who is mixing Pashtun with Punjabi, Baloch with Sindhi and Sindhi with Urdu-speaking and … ,” he wrote in a post on X.
On the other hand, the ruling alliance in the centre led by PML-N and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has nominated Asif Ali Zardari as its candidate for the slot of President. PPP leader Farooq H. Naek submitted his nomination papers in the Islamabad High Court.
The polling for the election of the President is scheduled to take place on March 9 at the Parliament House in Islamabad and the four provincial assemblies.