KARACHI - The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday challenged each other to contest the fresh elections. Opposition Leader in Sindh Assembly Firdaus Shamim Naqvi asked Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to resign and compete against him in his constituency
(PS-101). In response, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani threw the challenge to Naqvi to contest fresh election against him in his constituency (PS-104).Naqvi congratulated PPP’s newly-elected MPA Saleh Shah Jilani and questioned the chief minister’s stance that their victory was based on performance of the Sindh government. He said that ‘crown of Sindh’ (Karachi) has been destroyed by the PPP. “If you (PPP) won the by-election on the basis of provincial government’s performance, the chief minister should resign as MPA and compete against me. I would resign as legislator if Murad is ready to contest election,”
he challenged. The PPP supporters who were sitting in the visitors’ gallery kept chanting pro-PPP and anti-PTI slogans during Naqvi’s speech.On the other hand, the chief minister kept smiling at the Opposition Leader’s challenge, however it was accepted by Minister for Information Saeed Ghani who asked Naqvi to vie for polls against him. “I am ready to contest election against the Opposition Leader and resign
as MPA. He (Naqvi) should also resign and face me in both constituencies
— PS-101 and PS-104—. The PTI’s surety would be forfeited,” he claimed.Sharjeel Inam Memon of the PPP mocked the PTI and said none of latter’s members would resign from Karachi as they know that they would not be elected again. Even some of the Muttahida
Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s members
appreciated Memon’s remarks by thumbing the desk.NEWLY MEMBER TAKES OATHEarlier, Saleh Shah Jilani of the PPP took oath as MPA and replaced his father
Ghulam Shah Jilani in PS-86, Dadu. Senior Jilani died in September this year and the by-poll was held on November 7. The newly-elected member thanked people of his constituency and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for choosing him to serve the masses.Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah also felicitated the newly-elected member and said that people of the province always elected the Pakistan People’s Party whenever the elections were held in a free and fair manner. He said the PPP succeeded in the by-elections on the basis of Sindh government’s
performance. “The people of the constituency once again chose the PPP over any other party, as this has been the tradition in Dadu where even dictators failed to influence people,” he added.Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siarj Durrani also congratulated Jilani and said that late father of the newly elected lawmaker was an asset of the party and he stayed besides the leadership even in difficult times. Later, Sindh Assembly
Deputy Speaker Rehana Leghari adjourned
the session till Monday at 2pm due to a lack of quorum after the PTI lawmakers pointed it out.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah meets SMC participants at CM House.–APPComputer