Maryam Nawaz 'vacates' NA-119 seat

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) senior organizer and nominated candidate for the position of Chief Minister in Punjab Maryam Nawaz vacated NA-119 Lahore seat, ARY News reported citing sources.

According to sources within the party, Maryam Nawaz, who is all set to become the first woman chief minister in Punjab, has written a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and resigned from NA-119.

Sources said that the PML-N leader will keep PP-159 to become the chief minister of Punjab province. She bagged Lahore’s PP-189 seat with 23,598 votes by defeating PTI-backed independent candidate Sharafat Ali Khan, who managed to get 21,491 votes.

Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif announced that the party’s chief organiser Maryam Nawaz would be their candidate for the chief minister Punjab slot.

It is pertinent to mention here that the newly elected MPAs will take oath in the inaugural session of the Punjab Assembly today (Friday).

Punjab Governor Muhammad Balighur Rehman summoned an inaugural session of the Punjab Assembly following the general elections held on February 8.

READ: Maryam Nawaz will be PML-N’s candidate for CM Punjab: Shehbaz

Speaker of Punjab Assembly Sabatin Khan will administer the oath to the elected representatives, marking their official induction into the legislative body.

Meanwhile, the schedule for the election of new speaker and the deputy speaker of the house will also be released.

Meanwhile, strict security measures are put in place to avoid any untoward incident. More than 500 policemen have been deployed around the Punjab Assembly building. Furthermore, APCs, water canon vehicles, and Anti-Riots Dolphin Force are also deployed.