PTI’s nominee for Punjab CM Rana Aftab says will give surprise tomorrow

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreeke-e-Insaf nominee for Punjab Chief Minister Rana Aftab Ahmed Khan has said that he has submitted his nomination papers for the chief minister’s slot despite facing hurdles.

“We do not want to leave the field empty. We have a large number of members in the Punjab Assembly. Our members are not being allowed to enter the House. Aslam Iqbal is not being allowed to enter from anywhere, our elected member Ahmed Rashid Bhatti is also not being allowed to attend the session,” Rana Aftab said while talking to the media after submitting his nomination papers.

Without naming the Election Commission of Pakistan, he said that they were not notifying our reserved seats as the speaker had said that the elected members on the reserved seats also have the right to cast votes. “We are contesting the election of the Punjab chief minister as a mark of protest. If we leave the field empty, they will say we are scared.”

He alleged that they have filed false cases against some of their members.

“It is an honor for me to be nominated for the chief minister’s slot. We will give a surprise tomorrow, God willing,” he said.

Earlier, the PTI announced to replace Mian Aslam Iqbal with Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan as its candidate for Punjab’s chief ministership.

“The party leadership, in consultation with Mr Iqbal, has decided to nominate Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan for the CM position as the police from the entire Punjab are at the Punjab Assembly to arrest our CM candidate Aslam Iqbal,” Hammad Azhar wrote on X.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has put forth Maryam Nawaz as its candidate for the chief minister’s position, with the objective of potentially making her the first female chief minister in the country’s history. Despite facing challenge from independent candidates backed by the PTI, PML-N is confident in attaining enough seats to establish the provincial government.