ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday announced the name of Justice (Retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed as the party’s candidate for the upcoming presidential election, making it clear that there would no joint candidate from the opposition parties. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has already nominated its senior leader Senator Mian Raza Rabbani as the candidate for the presidential election.
An official statement issued by the Central Secretariat of PTI says that the decision was taken after consultations with the senior leadership of the party.
The statements says that earlier the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khurshid Shah had contacted PTI’s Deputy Parliamentary Leader in NA Shah Mahmood Qureshi who had suggested perhaps there could be a joint opposition candidate not affiliated to any political party but of national standing. However, later the PPP announced their party candidate.
The PML-N leadership had also contacted PTI with a view to seeking support for their candidate, the statement said. However, the PTI consensus was to put up its own candidate. Hence PTI’s leadership unanimously requested Justice (Retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed to be the PTI’s presidential candidate.
INP adds: The PML-Q nominated Senator Saeed Mandokhel as its candidate for the president slot. According to a press release issued here, PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain took in principal decision of nominating Senator Saeed Mandokhel from Balochistan as the party candidate for the post of president. The press release further said the party would play its utmost role in the presidential election and in this connection it has already started approaching other opposition parties.