PML-F to support PTI's candidate in PS-114 by-election

Last week, party succeeded in convincing Irfanullah Marwat to lend his support

KARACHI: After Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) managed to win over Irfanullah Marwat's support for the by-election in PS-114, the party has now secured the support of Pakistan Muslim League - Functional (PML-F).

The party's secretary-general, Jehangir Khan Tareen, met senior leader of PML-F and former MPA from PS-114 Sardar Abdul Raheem at the latter's residence on Wednesday, where he announced his support for PTI'S candidate Najeeb Haroon. Last week, PTI convinced Marwat, a former MPA of the constituency, to lend his support to the PTI in the by-elections.

Speaking to the media, Raheem said he received a call from PML-F head Pir Pagara on Tuesday night, who directed him to meet PTI leadership and assure them of the party's support for PTI's candidate in the by-election in PS-114.



Raheem added that he thought it was the right time to meet PTI leadership, as the senior leader of their party, Tareen, was also present in the city. According to him, PML-F trusts PTI's candidate who will be contesting in the elections. He added that all the parties contesting the elections have done nothing in the past, therefore, voters should definitely consider electing Haroon as their representative.

He criticised the provincial and federal governments for not giving Karachi its due share in the budget. Raheem said that without considering the National Finance Commission Award, the government prepared the budget and therefore a mega city like Karachi was neglected.

According to Raheem, it is sad to see that for the past many years Karachi has not seen any significant development in terms of mass transit, infrastructure or additional water supply. "People are now fed up with the existing leadership and they want leaders who can bring positive changes into their lives," added Raheem.



Tareen said that with PML-F's support, the campaign in the constituency will become even stronger, which will help PTI win the seat. He said he visited the constituency on Tuesday night and it saddened him to see the poor civic affairs of the area.

He believes that the city needs a fully empowered local government system, like Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, otherwise the affairs of the city will go from bad to worse. "The local government system here is a fraud. A real local government system is one in which affairs are dealt with at local and lower tiers instead of the provincial government exercising all the powers of the local government," Tareen. He pointed out that if the governments in the past had gotten the budget allocated for the city regularly, then the people would not be witnessing such days in the city. "I urge the voters to support PTI to get rid of the problems they have been facing for the last 40 years," he said.

Speaking about the joint investigation team probing off-shore properties allegedly belonging to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's family, Tareen said it has presented evidence in court and the government is involved in tampering documents. He added that although they have decided that the party will accept the court's decision, however, it is better for the prime minister to step down for the duration of the investigation.