Maryam Nawaz calls off her Karachi visit

KARACHI: PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz has called off her visit to Karachi Saturday.
She was scheduled to visit the city to attend the election rally of PML-N candidate Miftah Ismail in NA-249. She planned to address workers near Baldia Town’s Chandni Chowk.

The PML-N spokesperson confirmed the development, saying the visit was cancelled considering the worsening situation of the pandemic.

According to the party spokesperson, the visit was cancelled over the rising cases of coronavirus in the country. “There’s nothing more important to us (PML-N) than the lives of the public.”

Polling for Karachi’s NA-249 will be held on April 29. The seat had fallen vacant after PTI’s Faisal Vawda resigned from the National Assembly from his Senate seat.

The National Assembly seat fell vacant after PTI’s Faisal Vawda resigned following his election as a senator last month.
ANP and JUI-F withdrew candidate for the NA-249, to support PML-N’s Ismail.
On March 20, PML-N’s senior leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi met PPP chiarman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Karachi to seek support for the NA-249 by-polls. But failed to convince PPP. PPP is contesting and its candidate is Qadir Khan Mandokhel.

July 2018 general election there was close contest on NA-249, with Muhammad Faisal Vawda secured 35,344 votes to defeat Shahbaz Sharif, the PML-N’s central president and former chief minister Punjab polling 34,626 votes.

In the 2018 general elections Abid Hussain of TLP (now banned) stood third as he secured 23981 votes. Aslam Shah of Muttahida Qaumi Movement got 13534 votes, Qadir Khan Mandokhail of PPP obtained 7236 votes, Syed Atta Ullah Shah of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal secured 10307 votes.

NA-249 constituency of Karachi borders Balochistan and is exclusively composed of the entire Baldia Town, divided ethnically between Pashtun, Hazarewal (Hindko) Punjabis and Urdu-speaking populated neighborhoods with a few Baloch and Sindhi villages. It has a fraction of religious vote bank.