The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is contemplating appointing Sanam Javed as the opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly, contingent upon the appointment of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Maryam Nawaz as the chief minister of the province.
PTI announced following a press statement by PTI’s Barrister Saif, who outlined the party’s plan to form the opposition in light of its candidates securing 96 and 116 seats in the Centre and Punjab, respectively.
A faction within PTI is advocating for Javed, a committed party member currently detained due to her supposed role in the May 9 riots, to assume the role of opposition leader from a reserved seat. This move aims to challenge Maryam Nawaz, who has been proposed as chief minister following her victory in the PP-159 Lahore-I constituency.
Concurrently, discussions within PTI have surfaced regarding the potential nomination of Mian Aslam Iqbal, a former provincial minister, as the party’s candidate for chief minister.
Maryam Nawaz has been actively engaged in briefings on developmental and administrative initiatives in Punjab earlier in the week.
Despite facing an initial setback with the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) granting her permission to contest elections from NA-119, NA-120, and PP-125 in response to her appeal against the electoral tribunal’s decision, Javed opted to withdraw her candidacy from NA-119, thereby avoiding a direct electoral contest with Maryam for the National Assembly seat.
In a recent development, PTI had announced an alliance with Majlis-e-Wahdat-Muslimeen (MWM) to establish its government in Punjab. However, given the PML-N’s dominant position with 138 seats in the provincial assembly, PTI subsequently resolved to serve as the opposition.
