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PPP and PMLN want timely elections

News Desk

•
Nov 29

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif has emphasized the importance of conducting the scheduled general elections on February 8 next year.

Speaking to reporters after his appearance before an accountability court in Lahore regarding the Ramzan Sugar Mills reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Shehbaz said, “[Holding the elections on time] is the requirement of law and democracy.”

The NAB reference alleges that Shehbaz, the former chief minister of Punjab, misused his authority by utilizing public funds to construct a bridge to benefit mills owned by his sons.

Despite the legal challenges, Shehbaz expressed confidence in the PML-N’s upcoming election campaign, announcing that party leader Nawaz Sharif will unveil the manifesto during the electoral activities.

Addressing concerns raised by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) regarding equal opportunities in the polls, Shehbaz cited, “I went to court today and this is called the level-playing field and Nawaz Sharif will also produce himself in an Islamabad court today.”

Shehbaz also delved into recent events, including the May 9 incidents and the subsequent arrest of Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case. “A conspiracy to overthrow the army was hatched on May 9 and any democratic government will not tolerate treason,” he stressed.

During the court hearing, Shehbaz clarified the charges against him, referring to his summoning in the clean water case and subsequent arrest in the Ashiana reference

“I will not discuss the merits of the case, my lawyer will do it,” he told the court, adding that the court gave him justice in the Ashiana case.

“After that, NAB arrested me in the sewer case. I was told that I had issued a directive for the construction of a drain which was built by an MPA,” he said.

The PML-N president told the court that they have installed thousands of clean water projects during his tenure.

Shehbaz said that he transferred their inherited sugar mill to his son and the government did not give subsidies to sugar mills in his tenure.

PPP hopeful about timely elections

Meanwhile, PPP expressed optimism that Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa would ensure the timely holding of the next general elections on February 8.

“We are hopeful that Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa will not let the elections be delayed,” PPP leader Faisal Karim Kundi told in a press conference.

Echoing concerns about a level playing field previously voiced by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Kundi asserted that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is poised to become the next prime minister.

Mr Kundi claimed that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will be the next prime minister of the country and he would announce the party’s future line of action about the next elections at a public meeting in Quetta on Nov 30 on the occasion of the 56th foundation day of the PPP.

“Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari will both address the public meeting,” he said, adding that Bilawal’s sister Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari would conduct the election campaign of his brother.

Additionally, PPP leader Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari was appointed as the secretary general of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP).

Before Mr Bukhari’s appointment, seasoned party leader Farhatullah Babar was serving as the secretary general of the party’s parliamentary chapter.

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