MANSEHRA: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader retired Captain Mohammad Safdar on Wednesday claimed that his party’s supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif won’t be challenged by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-Parliamentarians central president Salah Mohammad Khan in the NA-15 election here.

“Mr Salah respects Mr Nawaz Sharif as his political mentor, so he won’t contest Feb 8 polls against him [in NA-15 constituency].

He was elected the provincial assembly’s member from here for the first time as a PML-N nominee in 2013,“ Mr Safdar told reporters here.

The PML-N leader said that Mr Salah was a die-hard PML-N worker before joining the PTI in 2018.

He said that his party would install governments in the centre, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after winning the upcoming elections.

Mr Safdar, who is the son-in-law of Mr Nawaz, insisted that his party’s supremo would make it to the National Assembly as a representative of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by winning the NA-15 election to become the prime minister for the fourth time.

He also said that his wife, Maryam Nawaz, would be the next elected chief minister of Punjab and Amir Muqam that of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Sources in the PTI-P told Dawn that it would be premature to say that the party leader, Salah Mohammad Khan, would withdraw his nomination papers in favour of Mr Nawaz.

They revealed that talks between the PTI-P and PML-N were under way for seat adjustment in Mansehra district.

The sources said that Mr Salah was contesting elections in NA-14 Mansehra-I, NA-15 Mansehra-II and PK-41 but the party had yet not decided about withdrawal of his nomination papers in any of the three constituencies.

PTI-P central chairman Pervez Khattak has ruled out seat adjustment with any political party in the province.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2024