PPP has decided to field Shah Mahmood Qureshi against exiled former PM Nawaz Sharif's aide Javed Hashmi in the coming general elections in Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has decided to field its top leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi against exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's close aide Javed Hashmi in the coming general elections in the Islamic nation, a daily reported here on Sunday.
Opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)'s leader Hashmi was released from prison yesterday after the Supreme Court suspended his 23 years' sentence awarded in 2004 on treason charges for criticising the Army.
"Qureshi will contest the election against the PML-N leader in Multan district for National Assembly seat. Former Premier in exile and PPP chief Benazir Bhutto has taken this decision in London," 'The News' reported today, quoting unnamed sources as saying.
In fact, according to them, Bhutto took this decision after her camp and Sharif's party drew new battle lines in the recently concluded all-parties' conference in the United Kingdom on how to deal with President Pervez Musharraf, particularly on the issue of his re-election in uniform.
According to political observers, the battle for the Multan seat between these two "titans" would be one of the most hotly contested elections in Pakistan.
Since 2003, after turning from friends to adversaries, Qureshi and Hashmi have contested three elections against each other. While Qureshi won in 1993 and 2002, Hashmi defeated him in 1997. The 2007 polls will be a decider whether Hashmi matches the scores with 2-2 or Qureshi takes a 1-3 lead.
Qureshi had served as Punjab's Finance Minister in the then Chief Minister Nawaz Sharif's cabinet twice between 1985 and 1990. But, later he deserted Sharif to join PPP as one of its national leader after finding that Hashmi had been calling the shots in Islamabad.
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