ISLAMABAD: Finally, the lady luck smiled on the Water Resources Minister Faisal Vawda as Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday gave him a clean chit to contest Senate elections from Sindh, despite reservations from the party workers.
The sources privy to the development told Business Recorder that in a meeting of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s parliamentary board, the prime minister stuck to its earlier decision of nominating Vawda as party candidate from Sindh in March 03 Senate polls.
Despite protests by workers who had earlier taken a stand against Vawda’s candidacy, the prime minister said that Vawda has rendered services for the party.
During the meeting, the ruling party’s board discussed the reservations raised against the PTI candidates who were nominated as candidates by the party.
They said that PM Khan would take party’s Sindh leadership into confidence over the board’s decisions, and will speak to them via a video link any time soon.
On the other hand, the PTI has decided to nominate Liaqat Tarakai as its candidate from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa for Senate elections and has decided to take back the ticket from Najibullah Khattak, added sources.
A few days earlier, Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter to announce the names finalised by the party who were to be issued tickets for the upcoming Senate elections.
On Saturday, however, the party took back the decision to award the Balochistan Senate ticket to Abdul Qadir after the decision received flak from the party’s leaders.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill, in a tweet, had said that the party had reversed its decision and now the Balochistan ticket had been allotted to Zahoor Agha.
“The kaptaan (skipper) always listens to his people,” the prime minister’s aide had said.
Senate tickets being given to Vawda and wealthy construction contractor Saifullah Abro had created a rift among PTI leaders from Sindh.
They wrote a letter to Sindh Governor Imran Ismail to express their reservations.
The ruling party has been under fire from its provincial chapter in Sindh for awarding Senate tickets to Vawda and Abro.
In the letter, the PTI office-bearers from three regions said they were extremely disappointed with the entire process of the selection of the PTI’s candidates for Senate polls.
The leaders who had signed the letter included Sadaqat Ali Jatoi [who is also the brother of former Sindh chief minister Liaquat Jatoi], PTI Sukkur district President Mubeen Jatoi, Allah Bux Unnar and Raja Khan Jhakrani, former provincial secretary general Mehfooz Usrani, a former candidate from NA-214 Shaheed Benazirabad Gul Muhammad Rind, former provincial minister Agha Taimoor Khan Pathan, Papu Khan Chachar, and other office-bearers.
Later, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail called on the prime minister at his Banigala residence in Islamabad.
During the meeting, they deliberated upon Senate nominations from the province.
Earlier, the governor reportedly reached out to enraged PTI workers in Karachi to assure them of support and to end their reservations over Senate tickets.
The meetings with local PTI workers discussed the concerns raised over Senate nominations which were not fruitful.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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