Maryam tapped for Punjab leadership

PTI founder nominates Ali Amin Gandapur for the chief ministerial position in K-P

LAHORE/RAWALPINDI:

Maryam Nawaz, the political scion of PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, has been nominated as the party’s candidate for the coveted position of the chief minister of the country’s most populous province, Punjab.

The PTI, which claims a majority in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly based on the 84 independent members who won February 8 general elections with the party’s backing, has picked its stalwart Ali Amin Gandapur as its chief ministerial candidate.

After a meeting at PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain's house, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif announced Maryam's nomination as the candidate for Punjab CM in a joint press conference.

“The decision to nominate Maryam for the position has been made by the party leadership and the Quaid [Nawaz Sharif],” said Shehbaz, who himself is nominated as the joint candidate of three major parties—PML-N, PPP, and MQM-P—for the position of the prime minister.

The PML-N, which has won 131 seats in the Punjab Assembly, believes that it is now in a position to form a government in the province. Interestingly, 140 independent candidates backed by the PTI have also reached the assembly.

The PPP has announced its support for the prime ministerial candidate of the PML-N. However, the party has not issued any policy statement regarding Punjab, where it holds ten seats.

The decision to nominate Ali Amin Gandapur as the next K-P chief minister was announced by the PTI’s incarcerated founder Imran Khan during an informal interaction with the media inside Adiala Jail.

"Ali Amin Gandapur will be the K-P's chief minister," he said, highlighting his party's strong position with 84 seats in the K-P Assembly. PTI’s Central Information Secretary Raoof Hasan later announced the decision at a news conference in Islamabad.

Ali Amin Gandapur served as the federal minister for Kashmir Affairs in the last PTI government. However, Maryam Nawaz has no experience serving in a legislature or working in any executive position in a federal or provincial government.

She was elected as the PML-N senior vice president and chief organizer in January 2023, a move that did not go down well with some senior PML-N leaders, including Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. She won the election for the Punjab Assembly constituency PP-159 Lahore-XV by securing 23,598 votes in the February 8 polls.