ANP withdraws from NA-242 in favour of Shehbaz Sharif

The Awami National Party (ANP) On Friday declared the withdrawal of its candidate for the upcoming elections in NA-242 Karachi, opting to support PML-N’s President and former Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif.

Arshad Sohaill, the candidate fielded by ANP, had his candidacy withdrawn following discussions with the PML-N.

This decision followed a meeting between a PML-N delegation and ANP Sindh chief Shahi Syed at his residence in Karachi.

Meanwhile, NA-242 remains a focal point of contention as both PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and MQM-P Senior Deputy Convener Mustafa Kamal filed nomination papers for the constituency

MQM-P On Thursday released its final list of candidates for National Assembly seats in Karachi, deciding not to field candidates in 15 constituencies, including five national and ten provincial, to accommodate allied parties, primarily the PML-N.

Khalid Maqbool clarified in a statement that Mustafa Kamal would be MQM-P’s candidate for NA-242, the same constituency where PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif is also contesting the general elections.

He said that reports of seat adjustment with PML-N on NA-242 were baseless.

This clarification came in response to emerging information that MQM-P and PML-N had agreed on seat adjustment for Karachi’s NA-242 seat.