‘Bye-bye PTI’: Bilawal reacts to PPP’s victory on two NA seats

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday congratulated party candidates Syed Musa Gillani and Abdul Hakeem Baloch for defeating Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate and former prime minister Imran Khan in by-polls on NA-157 (Multan-IV) and NA-237 (Malir-II), respectively. “Karachi & Multan, bye bye PTI! Congratulations to brother SyedMusaGillani and Hakeem Baloch for defeating Imran Khan from seats he had stolen in 2018 election,” he wrote on Twitter. Ali Musa- the son of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani bagged 79,743 votes and took a lead of 19,750 as Meher – the daughter of PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi – was able to secure 59,993 votes, according to unofficial results. Baloch defeated Imran Khan by obtaining 32,567 votes. With nearly 10,000 votes less than Baloch, Khan bagged 22,493. In a press conference after the unofficial results poured in, Yousaf told journalists that he was thankful to the PPP for awarding his son the ticket and praised the PML-N and the coalition alliance for supporting Musa. “I am thankful to PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, and PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman,” the ex-prime minister said. Gillani also slammed Imran Khan and said that his narrative had led to instability in the country. What’s the use of contesting elections when he [Imran Khan] has to resign from other seats,” he said, urging the people of South Punjab to reject the PTI chief’s narrative.

Hanif Samoon is a senior journalist based at Thar/Badin and contributes reports from different districts of Sindh to Minute Mirror. He has won a number of awards, including the Agahi Award twice for his stories on health and child rights. He tweets @HanifSamoon1 and can be reached through email at [email protected]