Daily Times

MULTAN: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Rana Qasim Noon Thursday won the by-election for NA-153, Jalalpur Pirwala, by securing 107,737 votes.

Ghulam Abbas of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the runner-up, getting 33,283 votes. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif congratulated Qasim. He also congratulated the people of Multan for reposing their overwhelming trust in the PML-N’s candidate, a PM House statement said. “The people of south Punjab have given their verdict in favour of our candidate. This clearly demonstrates the recognition and appreciation of the government’s policies by the people of that area. The election result speaks volumes of our performance and its due recognition by the people of Multan,” he said.

The polling had started at 8am and continued without a break till 5pm. Tight security arrangements were made at the polling stations and 7,329 policemen were deputed at sensitive polling stations along with army personnel. City Police Officer Muhammad Azhar Akram himself supervised the security measures during polling. No untoward incident was reported throughout the day and environment remained peaceful. The prime minister said people’s votes determined the popularity of any political party in all democratic countries.

Voters are the best judges of the good work done by any government and Thursday’s massive win by PML-N candidate reflects the popularity of the government’s “pro-people policies”, he added. He said the government policies, backed up by all-out efforts of the entire government’ team, were focused at resolving the issues faced by the common man. “We are grateful to Almighty Allah and the people of Pakistan, who support us in our endeavours to transform the country into a modern, developed and stable country.

“Our policies have removed the deprivations of the marginalised parts of the country as we believe that Pakistan can move ahead only if each and every part of the country is included in the reform agenda,” the prime minister stated. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also congratulated Qasim Noon on victory in the by-elections. He said the excellent victory of PML-N candidate reflects full confidence of the people in the party’s policies. He said politics of public service have also won in the by-elections. The chief minister said people have once again proved that they love the leadership of PML-N. “The journey to selfless service of the people will continue more speedily,” Shahbaz said, adding that the people of south Punjab have once again rejected “politics based on lie and the opponents of development of the country with the force of vote”.