Sharif will be reduced to 'Prime Minister of Islamabad': PTI leader post victory in Pak's Punjab bypolls
Jul 18, 2022
Islamabad [Pakistan], July 18 : After the landslide victory of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in the Punjab by-polls on Sunday, party's secretary general Asad Umar said that with the ouster of Hamza Shehbaz as the current Punjab CM on July 22, PM Shehbaz Sharif would be reduced to the "prime minister of Islamabad".
It was a massive win for PTI in the by-elections on 20 Punjab Assembly seats. PTI candidates secured victory in Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sahiwal, and Khushab provincial assembly seats while the party took the lead by a clear majority in 15 constituencies of the province.
After PTI's win, while speaking with local media, the PTI secretary general Asad Umar urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to call snap elections, reported Dawn.
Notably, the current Chief Minister of Punjab is PML-N's Hamza Shehbaz. The defeat of the PML-N has prompted a series of reactions from rival PTI.
Umar said that PML-Q leader Parvez Elahi will become the Punjab CM on July 22.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz called for introspection within the party coalition, media reports said.
The likely victory of the PTI proved that the people of Pakistan had rejected the "decisions taken behind closed doors", he added.
Umar said the PTI chairman had called a meeting of the core committee on Monday (today) where decisions will be taken regarding the future strategy, as per the media reports.
While the race for Punjab was still on, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz had conceded defeat after the PTI took the lead in the majority of the 20 provincial assembly constituencies which were up for grabs.
She said that defeat should be accepted with an open heart. "The PML-N should accept the results of the bypolls with an open heart and concede to the decision of the masses," Maryam said, reported Geo TV.
Maryam added that winning and losing are part of politics, therefore, the party should now focus on its weaknesses, identify them, and then overcome them. "God willing, everything will be fine," she had said.
