The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has entered seat adjustment with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for three National Assembly (NA) constituencies, including NA-242, where the former ruling party is fielding ex-prime minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The PML-N president was cleared by the election tribunal to contest upcoming general elections, slated to take place on February 8, from district Keamari of Karachi, which was once a stronghold of MQM-P.
Sources told Geo News on Tuesday that apart from Shehbaz, PML-N will field its candidates on five NA seats — including NA-229, 230, and 239 — as well as 11 provincial assembly seats within these constituencies.
Meanwhile, the MQM-P candidates would contest polls for the national and provincial assembly seats from Malir’s NA-231 constituency, they said.
The sources added that the Karachi-based party will field its candidates on the provincial seats within the NA-242 constituency
The PML-N would also contest for NA seats in Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah, and Sukkur, they said.
On December 29, Shehbaz announced filing his nomination papers for the upcoming general elections from Karachi’s NA-242 constituency, where MQM-P Senior Deputy Convener Mustafa Kamal had also filed their documents.
Shehbaz had contested from the NA-249 constituency of Karachi in the 2018 general elections which he lost to the then-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Faisal Vawda by a slight margin.
Meanwhile, MQM-P sources said that Shehbaz will soon contact MQM-P Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui regarding the seat adjustment for NA-242, after which the party will put the matter before its Rabita Committee.
They said that a joint statement would be issued for the final decision in this regard.
