• PML-Q vows to contest polls independently.
• PML-N attempts to woo PPP rivals in Sindh.
• PPP says it is not scared of PML-N moves.

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) on Sunday rejected reports of a merger, saying there would be only seat adjustments with the Nawaz Sharif-led party in some constituencies.

In a statement on Sunday, PML-Q Punjab General Secretary Chaudhry Shafay Hussain said his party was not merging with any other political party.

Shafay said that the party would maintain its individual status and that its candidates would participate in elections on tractor symbol.

The PML-Q leader cleared the air on reports claiming that the party may be given an option in the coming days to merge itself with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) if Chaudhry Shujaat wants seats for his two sons and the party secretary general Tariq Bashir Cheema.

It further said that the PML-N is making efforts to woo other political forces into its fold for the upcoming polls.

PML-Q was an important ally in the coalition government of Shahbaz Sharif and played a key role in ousting Imran Khan through a no-trust motion.

After the announcement of the election date by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) political activities have increased in the country.

Last week, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) announced that they would contest polls jointly with PML-N and a committee was formed to draft proposals.

On Sunday, a PML-N delegation held a meeting with MQM-P leadership in Karachi and discussed “electoral alliance and future strategies”.

The party is also reaching out to other rivals of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) in Sindh seeking to form a grand alliance.

PPP unhappy

On the other hand, reacting to statements of the PML-N leaders in Karachi, PPP leader Sharjeel Memon said the Nawaz League had always come to power through rigging, which was a bitter truth, but the PPP wanted to move forward.

“With whichever party PML-N makes an alliance, PPP will make a clean sweep in the upcoming elections,” he claimed.

The PML-N had always remembered the people of Sindh during the election years, he added.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Sharjeel said the PPP had built houses for the people Sindh.

And those ruling Punjab had never built even proper hospital facilities for people. How many houses has PML-N built for people who could not afford them, he asked.

“Incapable people were imposed on the country in 2018, and we do not want to repeat the same mistake in 2024,” he said.