LAHORE – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president and former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided not to contest upcoming polls from Karachi.
The retraction comes hours after the party decided to filed Shehbaz in Karachi’s three constituencies – NA-249, NA-248, and NA-250. He will contest elections from Punjab.
The decision was taken back after holding consultative meetings with the party’s senior leadership, Geo News reported on Monday.
The development was confirmed by a PML-N leader Saleem Zia, who had also collected the nomination papers for the former chief minister from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). He said that Shehbaz was not taking part in elections from Karachi.
On Sunday, Shehbaz Sharif received nomination papers to contest general election 2018 from the Sindh capital city.
Media reports suggest the former chief minister of Punjab has decided to contest election from Karachi and in this regard, PML-N leader Saleem Zia on his behalf collected nomination papers from election commission.
Zia told the media that Shehbaz will contest elections from NA-248, 249, and 250 of Karachi.
Senator PML-N Saleem Zia further added that politicians of Karachi, who governed the city previously has made it vulnerable.
“Leading political parties of Karachi could not maintain peace within the city,” he added.
He went on to claim that if people of Karachi elect Shehbaz, he will serve them “exceptionally” within six months.
