LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) yesterday joined hands with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf by withdrawing its candidate in favour of PTI contender in PP-147. The PAT candidate for provincial assembly constituency PP-147, Ishtiaq Ahmed advocate, withdrew in favour of PTI contender Shoaib Siddiqui. PAT top leaders Khurram Nawaz Gandapur and Dr Raheeq Abbasi made the announcement during a meeting with Imran’s Punjab captain Chaudhary Sarwar. 

Dr Qadri’s party had already announced support for Aleem Khan, Mr Khan’s candidate in NA-122, as the PAT had no suitable candidate to field. 
Analysts say though the PAT is not expected to make a major difference in NA-122 and PP-147 but this move has a symbolic value for the PTI candidates. The PAT leadership after joining hands with PTI, will now campaign for both the candidates of Mr Khan. PAT leaders also signed an agreement with PTI for making seat adjustments in the upcoming local bodies’ polls and advancing this cooperation to the next general elections. 

A PAT leader told The Nation his party had pledged conditional support to PTI that Khan’s party would extend support to them in the local bodies’ election. The agreement was signed by PAT secretary general Khurram Nawaz Gandapur and PTI Punjab organizer Chaudhary Sarwar. Another rival of the ruling party, the PML-Q has also formally jumped into the election drive of PTI candidate for NA-122. The four-point declaration between the two parties agreed upon includes accelerating the joint drive to get justice for the victims of Model Town incident. 

A committee comprising three members of each party will be formed to devise strategy for upcoming local bodies’ elections and next general elections. Both the parties will play role to purge the country of terrorism, extremism and corruption. The two parties will further make efforts for granting the democratic and constitutional rights to the people of Pakistan.  PML-Q Punjab general secretary Chaudhry Zaheer-ud-Din formally joined the canvassing for Mr Khan’s candidate and visited PTI central election campaign office at Garhi Shahu. He claimed his party would use all its support in NA-122 for PTI candidate and defeat the PML-N runner. 

“I have directed all the party office-bearers and workers to fully participate in the election campaign to ensure victory of the PTI candidate in NA-122,” he said. In another by-election development, PTI and more than 16 of its allied parties have demanded of the Election Commission to entrust the security duties to Rangers at all the polling stations for elections in the provincial capital on October 11. The demand came up after a meeting among PTI leader Chaudhary Sarwar, his party’s main allies Jamaat-i-Islami Lahore head Mian Maqsood Ahmad and Sunni Ittehad Council chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza.