Zardari meets Shujaat in last-ditch effort ahead of Punjab CM election

By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 05 Jan 2023

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-Chairman and former President Asif Ali Zardari made a final attempt to persuade Pakistan Muslim League–Q Chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to win his party’s support for Hamza Shahbaz in the Punjab chief minister runoff election set to be held on Friday.

After Zardari’s meeting with Shujaat on Tuesday, the latter announced support for PTI-PML-Q joint candidate Pervaiz Elahi, dampening PML-N hopes for Hamza’s reelection.

However, Zardari met Shujaat again on Wednesday in a last-ditch effort to secure PML-Q’s support for Hamza.

SAMAA TV reported that the PPP co-chairman was to once again request Shujaat to direct his party lawmakers to vote for Hamza instead of his brother. PML-Q has ten MPAs in the Punjab Assembly and is in a position to tilt the balance of power either way.

Earlier, SAMAA TV’s Mohsin Bilal reported that Zardari has told Elahi to snub Imran Khan and join them and warned that otherwise, their ‘political fight’ would turn into ‘personal animosity’.

PML-Q and PTI Meeting

Meanwhile, the top brass of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and PML-Q held a meeting in Lahore on the eve of the election.

The participants expressed satisfaction over the number of lawmakers of both parties have gathered at a private hotel in the provincial capital.

On the occasion, Elahi said that the people doing Changa-Manga politics (horse-trading) would face defeat.

PTI leader Asad Umar vowed to guard each and every vote on Friday and said that none of Imran Khan’s companions were sellouts.