PESHAWAR: Pakistan Peoples Party senior leader Syed Khursheed Shah has said that Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan is his party’s candidate for the post of president of the country and also asked Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf to support him for the top slot.

He was talking to mediapersons at the residence of Awami National Party leader Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour in Peshawar on Sunday. The PPP leader claimed that no one had objected to Mr Ahsan’s nomination, but the difference of opinion was only on the procedure.

Heading a delegation of the PPP leaders, including Qamar Zaman Kaira, Aitzaz Ahsan and Naveed Qamar, Mr Shah offered condolences over the death of ANP leader Haroon Bilour, who was killed in a suicide attack during his election campaign in Peshawar.

PPP also asks PTI to support its nominee for president’s post

Mr Shah said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shahbaz Sharif was expected to take a positive step by forgetting all the past bitterness and acrimonies.

He said that his party had also sought help of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal president Maulana Fazlur Rehman in favour of the PPP nominee with the hope that the PML-N leadership would respond positively.

Talking about the government decisions, the PPP leader said that strengthening of the country’s economy was a big challenge for the government. He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan in his election manifesto had made claims to provide five million houses and 10 million jobs to the poor people and unemployed during first 100 days of his government and now it was his duty to fulfil the commitment.

“In our view, the government has so far announced no new thing for uplift of the nation. The medical treatment of ministers abroad, discretionary funds and air travel in first class were already banned,” he said. He challenged that the government would be unable to sack any of the employees of Prime Minister’s House, adding that such announcements were mere claims. The PPP, he said, would definitely support the government if it initiated any public welfare plan to bring real change in the fate of the poor.

Pakistan’s real problem, he said, was its weak economic situation and it was a challenge for Imran Khan to take effective steps for its improvement within the period he had announced for the purpose. He said that population growth was another big issue of the country, but the government was avoiding talking about it.

The PPP leader said that there were reports that Imran Khan travel twice a day from PM House to Banigala in helicopter. He said that instead of cosmetic announcements the government should take pragmatic steps to materialise its plan for uplift of the nation and development of the country.

Meanwhile, Ghulam Bilour said that the PPP delegation visited his residence to offer their condolences over the death of his nephew Haroon Bilour. He said that the opposition parties did not seem to maintain the alliance. “We wish the opposition parties to maintain the alliance,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2018