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Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan on Friday nominated Sardar Usman Buzdar as his party's candidate for Punjab chief minister.
Khan, who is set to become the prime minister on Saturday, made the announcement himself in a video message.
"I have nominated Sardar Usman as Punjab chief minister," the PM-elect said. "And I want to tell you the reason for doing so.
"He belongs to an area of Punjab that is the most backward. People there have no water or electricity or hospital.
"The special thing about Sardar Usman is that he is well acquainted with how people live in those areas and secondly, he is aware of how the poor lead their lives.
"When he will assume the office of the chief minister he will know the nature of the plight that faces the underprivileged people of Pakistan.
"He is the only MPA to not have electricity at his home. I am confident that he will work brilliantly to bring to fruition our vision, which aims at uplifting the lower sections of society and the backward areas of Pakistan."
Jhandi in Tuman Buzdar tribal area is home to the Khanani sub-tribe of Buzdar tribe. According to a Dawn report in 2016, people living in the area have no access to basic civic facilities, health facilities are also very poor, local women suffered from night blindness due to malnutrition and in the early ‘80s, leprosy was diagnosed among residents of Jhandi.
Senior party leader Jehangir Tarin congratulated Buzdar, and added: "Usman hails from the poorest part of the Taunsa Sharif — an area that has lagged far behind even other areas of South Punjab. IA! his appointment will help bring South Punjab out of its miseries."
Buzdar — the son of a three-time former MPA
Buzdar, who hails from Taunsa Sharif, had triumphed in the 2018 general elections from PP-286 (Dera Ghazi Khan-II) by securing 26,897 votes.
The first-time MPA was a tehsil nazim of a mountainous tribal area of Dera Ghazi Khan during former president Pervez Musharraf's era.
He is the son of the Buzdar tribe chief, Fateh Muhammed Khan Buzdar, who himself was an MPA in 1985, 2002, and 2008.
Buzdar, who is now in pole position to become Punjab CM, was a member of the PML-Q from 2002 to 2011. Later, he left the party to join the PML-N.
In 2013, he ran for provincial assembly seat on a PML-N ticket but was defeated by a PPPP contestant.
Before the 2018 general elections, Buzdar joined the Janoobi Punjab Suba Mahaz, which then merged with the PTI, thus making him a member of Khan's party.
Buzdar has a bachelor's degree in law and master's degree in political science.
