File photo. Tolga Akmen—AFP
Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader Nawaz Sharif is aiming to contest general elections for the National Assembly from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s NA-15, Mansehra, according to his son-in-law Capt. (retd.) Muhammad Safdar.
“Nawaz Sharif will be our election candidate from NA-15 (Mansehra-II),” he told reporters on Wednesday. “He will become the prime minister as an elected representative of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to address the province’s deprivation,” he said, adding he had received nomination papers for the former prime minister earlier and would submit them the same day.
To questions, Safdar said Amir Muqam would be the PMLN’s choice for KP chief minister if the party secured a majority in the province. He further claimed his wife, Maryam Nawaz, was the party’s candidate for the office of the Punjab chief minister, adding this would be formally announced later. However, observers have noted that there is great public demand for PMLN President Shehbaz Sharif to return to the top office in Punjab and the party might still be weighing its options in this regard.
Safdar, who had previously contested polls from NA-15, said he would sit out this election to “serve the people.” However, he added, he would be amenable to a Senate ticket if his party opted to nominate him for it. Mansehra is considered a stronghold of the PMLN, with the party having won the seat in the 2013 and 2018 elections. While the PMLN maintains Nawaz is now free to contest polls after amendments to the Elections Act and his acquittal in three corruption cases, confusion persists over whether he remains disqualified for life in accordance with a Supreme Court ruling in the Panama Papers case. The apex court is set to take up the discrepancy in January.
Reportedly, Shehbaz Sharif is likely to submit nomination papers for Lahore’s NA-123, PP-158, and PP-164 seats, as well as Karachi’s NA-242. Maryam, meanwhile, is believed to be eyeing the NA-119 seat as well as two PA seats in Lahore. The party has yet to formally announce its final list of ticket-holders.
Also on Wednesday, a PMLN parliamentary board led by Nawaz interviewed over 400 party members interested in seats reserved for women. Addressing media after the meeting, PMLN Punjab Information Secretary Azma Bokhari claimed “many women” will be seen contesting on general seats in the upcoming polls.