LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman and former President Asif Ali Zardari made a final attempt to convince Pakistan Muslim League–Q Chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to win his party’s support for Hamza Shahbaz in the Punjab chief minister runoff election set to be held on Friday.
After Zardari’s meeting with Shujaat on Tuesday, the latter announced support for PTI-PML-Q joint candidate Pervaiz Elahi, dampening PML-N hopes for Hamza’s reelection.
However, Zardari met Shujaat again on Thursday in a last-ditch effort to secure PML-Q’s support for Hamza.
The PPP co-chairman was to once again request Shujaat to direct his party lawmakers to vote for Hamza instead of his brother. PML-Q has ten MPAs in the Punjab Assembly and is in a position to tilt the balance of power either way.
Earlier a private TV reported that Zardari has told Elahi to snub Imran Khan and join them and warned that otherwise, their ‘political fight’ would turn into personal animosity.
Meanwhile, the top brass of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and PML-Q held a meeting in Lahore on the eve of the election.
The participants expressed satisfaction over the number of lawmakers of both parties have gathered at a private hotel in the provincial capital.
