Daily Times

Following unsubstantiated reports of a seat adjustment between disgruntled Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Chaudhry Nisar and the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) over the Eid weekend, both sides issued statements dismissing that any such possibility was under consideration.

In a statement issued from his office, the veteran leaguer denied that any negotiations with PTI were underway to strike seat adjustment over NA-59 (the Rawalpindi constituency from where Nisar remained a parliamentarian from 2013 to 2018), and the two provincial assembly seats under it (PP-10 and PP-12).

Nisar’s press release had followed a denial by PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry. “We have no seat adjustment with Chaudhry Nisar,” he said, while terming such reports as ‘unreal, fictitious and baseless’.

Chaudhry said that the party had already nominated its senior vice-president Ghulam Sarwar Khan to contest the election on the NA seat against Nisar.

In April, the former interior minister had announced contesting elections from his stronghold of NA-59 and two provincial assembly seats. Nisar served as a parliamentarian from NA-52 Rawalpindi-III. After delimitations following the last year’s census, almost 60 percent of the areas in old NA-52 are now part of new NA-59.

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has been winning National Assembly seats since 1985. He has served as an MNA from the Potohar region eight times in the lower house of Parliament. He successfully contested National Assembly seats in general elections of 1985, 1988, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2008, and 2013.

Published in Daily Times, June 19^th 2018.