PPP poised to form next govt in centre: Murad Ali Shah

DADU: As general elections draw near, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Murad Ali Shah on Sunday said that the party is well poised to form the next government in the Centre.

Speaking to ARY News exclusively, the former Sindh chief executive ruled out any ‘competition’ for PPP in Sindh while noting that the party has secured majority in Balochistan too.

Referring to PML-N surpemo Nawaz Sharif visit to Balochistan, Murad Ali Shah said that the former premier did not even leave the hotel during his stay and held meetings in the room.

“[PPP leadership] Asif Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto visited individuals’ homes in Balochistan,” he added.

Furthermore, the PPP leader said the party would also secure seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). “We are targeting to get enough seats to form PPP’s government in the Centre,” he added.

The former Sindh CM further said that Bilawal Bhutto would be the candidate for prime ministership. “PPP would soon bring its own prime minister and provide relief to common man by introducing necessary reforms,” he added.

In apparent reference to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Murad said a political party, which demanded immediate election, hatched conspiracy to delay the polls. He also hailed the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) for ‘foiling the conspiracy to delay the elections’.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued the election schedule for the upcoming February 8 general polls in compliance with the Supreme Court (SC) order issued earlier.

According to a notification issued by the electoral watchdog, the public notice would be issued by the Returning Officer (RO) on December 19 with the dates for filing nominations from Dec 20-22.

The ECP, in its notification, stated that the names of the nominated candidates would be published on Dec 23 while the last date for scrutiny of their nomination papers would be from Dec 24-30.

The development came hours after Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan ordered the ECP to announce the election schedule by tonight as it suspended a Lahore High Court (LHC) order on the appointment of returning officers (ROs) and district returning officers (DROs) from the bureaucracy, which cast uncertainty over holding of general polls.

The Pakistan Supreme Court also issued a contempt of court notice to Barrister Umair Niazi – who filed the petition on behalf of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) – seeking an explanation as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him.