ISLAMABAD - Pakistan People’s Party is hoping to do better in the Punjab Provincial Assembly polls next month amid chances of a fierce fight between the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf. Realistically, the PPP does not have any high expetctaiuons of wining big but a better performance will do for the party leadership, close aides of the PPP decision makers told The Nation. “The PML-N and the PTI have better position in Punjab but are not totally disapplinted. We are aiming to perform and increase our representation (in the Punjab Assembly),” a aide of PPP supremo Asif Ali Zardari said. He said clinching a number three position at this time will be a ‘victory for the PPP. PPP senior leader Kasim Gilani is also optimistic about the PPP chances in the Punmjab Assembly polls. “Countdown begins for Punjab Election with only 37 days left. Today, PPP’s parliamentary board is scheduled to meet and finalize candidates for 97 seats in South Punjab, a region where party is expected to perform well,” he tweeted. PPP leader Shazia Marri, who is also the Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation, alleged that PTI chief Imran Khan had destroyed the country’s economy.
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“Due to the looting of Imran Khan, today the government is approaching the IMF (International Monetary Fund) for one billion dollars,” she said. This week, the National Assembly passed a resolution against the Supreme Court’s verdict directing the government to hold elections next month in Punjab, the most populous province governed by a caretaker setup. On April 4, a three-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial had nullified the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to delay polls in Punjab from April 30 to October 8 and fixed May 14 as the day for polls in the province. The governing coalition parties in the lower house of parliament have urged PM Shehbaz Sharif not to abide by the apex court’s ruling. The resolution against the SC verdict was prepared collectively by coalition parties of the incumbent government and moved by Khalid Magsi, a Balochistan Awami Party legislator.
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