Days after the Pakistan Tehkreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced that it would sit on opposition benches in the Centre and Punjab, the party is considering naming Sanam Javaid as its opposition leader in the province if Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Maryam Nawaz is appointed as chief minister, according to The News, citing sources.
The development comes after PTI’s Barrister Saif stated at a press conference on Friday that the opposition would be formed in the Centre and Punjab, where its sponsored candidates won 96 and 116 seats respectively.
Some factions within the PTI want to bring Javaid, a loyal party activist who’s presently detained for her suspected role in the May 9 riots, as opposition leader — on a reserved seat — in the country’s largest province to “give a tough time”to the PML-N scion who has been nominated for the slot of chief minister after winning on the PP-159 Lahore-I seat.
Meanwhile, Mian Aslam Iqbal, a former provincial minister, has emerged as the PTI’s chief ministerial candidate, according to sources.
Earlier earlier week, The News claimed that Maryam had already been briefed on numerous development and administrative issues in Punjab.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) initially allowed Javaid, who has been openly critical of the PML-N leadership, to run in the elections from NA-119, NA-120, and PP-125 in response to an appeal filed against the election tribunal’s decision on her plea over the rejection of nomination papers.
Despite the Supreme Court’s relief, the PTI activist withdrew her nomination from NA-119, where she was scheduled to contest alongside Maryam for a National Assembly seat.Earlier this week, the party stated that it would form a government in Punjab alongside the Majlis-e-Wahdat-Muslimeen (MWM); but, due to the PML-N’s 138-seat majority, the party later elected to sit on the opposition benches instead.
