PPP adamant on Aitzaz Ahsan's name for presidential pick
Opposition parties, except PPP, have nominated Fazl as their pick for president.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is sticking with the name of Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan as its candidate for the slot of president.
PPP leaders at a meeting of opposition parties chaired by PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari Tuesday refused to consider other names for the office of the president.
Zardari reportedly told the participants that his party respected Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman but would not compromise on principles.
The opposition parties, except PPP, have nominated Fazl as their pick for president.
ECP summons candidates for scrutiny
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has informed the presidential hopefuls to appear along with their proposer and seconder before the commission in Islamabad on Wednesday.
The candidates, ECP said, should bring their original national identity cards and membership cards issued by Senate or the relevant assembly and the chief election commissioner will scrutinise nomination papers of the candidates.
Candidature can be withdrawn by 1200 hours on August 30. The list of validated candidates will be published the same day at 1:00 pm. The election is scheduled to be held on September 4.
The president is elected by an electoral college comprising members of the Senate, National Assembly and four provincial assemblies, whereas voting for the president is held through a secret ballot.
Nomination papers
Both Aitzaz Ahsan and Arif Ali, who has been nominated by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), submitted their nomination papers to the electoral commission on Monday.
While talking to media after filing the papers, Aitzaz Ahsan said, “PPP consulted other opposition parties before fielding my name for the post.”
“I was not present for the party meeting in which it was decided to field my name as candidate for the election of president,” he added.
Responding to PML-N leader Pervaiz Rashid’s reservations, the PPP leader said, “PML-N leaders clarified that this is Rashid’s personal opinion and not a party policy.”
“I respect Pervaiz Rashid but his demand was unnecessary,” he added.
To a question, he said that if the opposition remained divided and fielded two candidates for the post of the country’s president then the ruling PTI would gain benefit.
On the other hand, Dr Arif Alvi pointed out that candidates of other parties could have shown a positive gesture by withdrawing in favour of PTI’s candidate but they did not.
He was of the view that if he would be elected he would be the second president of Pakistan belonging to Karachi and it would be an honour for the Sindh province too. “But I am Pakistani and love my country and will prove it practically.”
He stressed that after coming into power he would focus on major issues like water,education,health and most importantly towards tree plantation, adding the previous governments did nothing to resolve issues of the people.
He said time has come when all parties should concentrate on the matters important for the country and masses.
Who is Arif Alvi?
Born in 1949 and a dentist by profession, Arif Alvi is among the founding members of the PTI.
Alvi ran for the seat of Provincial Assembly of Sindh as a candidate of PTI from constituency PS-114 (Karachi) in Pakistani general election, 1997, but remained unsuccessful.
He ran for the seat of Provincial Assembly of Sindh in Pakistani general election, 2002 as a candidate of PTI from constituency PS-90 Karachi-II but was unsuccessful and secured only 1,276 votes.
He served as the secretary general of PTI from 2006 to 2013.
He was elected as member of the National Assembly of Pakistan for the first time in Pakistani general election, 2013 on PTI ticket from Constituency NA-250. Alvi was the only PTI member to win a National Assembly seat from Sindh in 2013 elections
In 2016, he was made president of PTI Sindh chapter.
He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PTI from Constituency NA-247 (Karachi South-II) in the recently held general election.
Profile of Aitzaz Ahsan
Aitzaz Ahsan was born on September 27, 1945 in Murree. His initial instruction was from Aitchison College and Government College University. He then went on to Downing College, Cambridge to study law.
Upon his return from Cambridge, he appeared for and topped the Central Superior Services examination. He started his political career in the 1970s when he held the portfolio of Punjab information planning and development minister during the PPP government in 1970s.
A senior PPP leader, he has served as the minister for law, justice, interior and education in the federal government between 1988 and 1993. Elected to the Senate of Pakistan in 1994, he was successively the leader of the house and the leader of the opposition between the years 1996 and 1999.
He is a senior advocate in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He is also a human rights activist and a founder vice-president of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Married to Bushra Ahsan, he is the father of two daughters and a son.
