NA-168 stays with Channar family

BAHAWALPUR:

 

PML-N candidate Malik Munir Iqbal Channar won the NA-168 Bahawalpur by-election on Sunday, securing 77,688 votes against 41,260 polled by his rival, Wali Dad Cheema.

Polling continued uninterrupted from 8am to 5pm, with slow turnout, while the election remained largely peaceful apart from a few isolated incidents.

The seat had fallen vacant following the death of PML-N MNA Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar. His son, Malik Munir Iqbal Channar, contested the by-election as the PML-N candidate, while Wali Dad Cheema, son of former federal minister and MNA Tariq Bashir Cheema, was his main rival.

Channar secured 77,688 votes, while Cheema received 41,260 votes.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Malik Munir Iqbal Channar, saying his victory showed public's confidence in the PML-N, a PM Office statement issued by the PM Office said.

The premier recalled that Malik Munir Iqbal Channar's father, Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar, always demonstrated his loyalty with PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif besides rendering valuable services to the party.

"Today, his son's victory is reflective of the same continuity of that loyalty and public service," the premier said.

He lauded the people of Bahawalpur for electing their representative by participating enthusiastically in the democratic process.

He also extended felicitations to Malik Munir Iqbal Channar's brother, Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Malik Zaheer Iqbal Channar.

A day earlier, the Punjab Home Department requested the federal interior ministry that troops of army and Rangers (Punjab) be deployed in the constituency for smooth, peaceful and secure conduct of the by-election.

Leading up to the by-poll, three persons were injured on Sept 12 in an armed clash at Baqirpur in connection with the election campaign of Cheema, the son of former PML-Q federal minister Tariq Bashir Cheema.