MUZAFFARGARH: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leadership on Wednesday issued the tickets to it’s candidates in south Punjab for the by-elections to be held on July 17 on the Punjab Assembly seats got vacated after the Election Commission of Pakistan de-seated the MPAs who defected from the PTI, while the PML-N has fielded those in the contest who had been de-seated.

Muzaffargarh district has two vacant seats of the provincial assembly -- PP-272 and PP-273 -- where the PTI awarded tickets to Sardar Daud Jatoi, son of former PPP MNA Qayyum Jatoi, against Zahra Batool of the PML-N and Yasir Arfaat Jatoi against Syed Sibtain Bukhari in the constituencies, respectively.

Daud Jatoi had contested 2018 election on a PPP ticket from NA-186 and was runner-up against the winning PTI candidate Talal Gopang.

Sardar Qayyum Jatoi has also received nomination papers and according to sources he will be contesting the by-poll as an independent candidate from PP-273.

On the other hand, former PMLN candidate, Haroon Sultan Bukhari and his wife also submitted their nomination papers.

Meanwhile, in Layyah district, PTI awarded ticket to Sardar Qaiser Khan Magsi for PP-282 against PML-N’s Tahir Randhawa.

In Dera Ghazi Khan, PTI has pitched Sardar Saifuddin Khosa from PP-282 against PML-N’s Mohsin Ata Khosa.

From Multan (PP-217), MNA Zain Qureshi will be the PTI candidate against PML-N’s Salman Naeem, while in Lodhran (PP-224), PTI has pitched Amir Iqbal Shah.

Former state minister of PPP Sardar Moazzam Jaoi and Sami Ullah Leghari have also submitted their nominations papers. Moazzam Jaoi claimed that the PTI leadership had awarded him tickets for both PA seats (PP-272, 273), but he will either recommend Daud Jatoi and Yasir Arfaat or himself contest the by-poll.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2022