Former ISI Chief Zaheer-ul-Islam Announces Support To PTI Candidate For Rawalpindi By-election

Former ISI Chief Zaheer-ul-Islam Announces Support To PTI Candidate For Rawalpindi By-election
Former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general Lieutenant General (r) Zaheerul Islam has announced his ‘complete support’ to a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate in the PP7 Rawalpindi by-election to be held on July 17.

Today, an account of PTI team shared pictures of a gathering held at the former ISI DG’s residence and wrote that Zaheerul Islam has announced his complete support for PTI candidate Lt Col (R) Shabbir Awan in the PP7 Rawalpindi by-polls.

However, later the account, which is followed by the party’s official Twitter handle, deleted the tweet.

Twenty constituencies of Punjab are on the ballot after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) unseated 25 provincial lawmakers for voting against party lines during the recent election for the province’s chief minister.

It is pertinent to mention here that a tough contest is expected between Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PTI in the by-polls as the majority of the 20 defecting PTI MPAs have hitched their wagons to the PML-N.

In the PP7 by-polls, which falls under NA-57, PML-N has fielded Raja Sagheer Ahmed while PTI has nominated Shabbir Awan, who had joined the party in 2011.

Earlier on Friday, PML-N leader Sheikh Abdul Quddus had died of cardiac arrest during a public gathering held in Rawalpindi in connection with the election campaign for party candidate Raja Sagheer.