- Usman Buzdar, Imran Khan’s nominee, hails from southern Punjab, the most underdeveloped part of the province
- Punjab Assembly is due to elect new chief minister on Sunday
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and Prime Minister Imran Khan nominated Sardar Usman Buzdar for the slot of Punjab chief minister.
Usman hails from southern Punjab, considered an underdeveloped area of the province.
He won the provincial assembly seat from Dera Ghazi Khan, a district of Punjab.
Prime Minister Khan, on a video message on Friday night, said: “I have nominated Sardar Usman as the (party’s) candidate (for the post of the) chief minister Punjab.”
While explaining why he nominated Usman, Khan said that the chosen chief minister for Punjab comes from one of the most underdeveloped areas of the province, where people had neither clean drinking water nor an uninterrupted supply of electricity.
Khan said in his video that Usman was the only parliamentarian “whose home had no electricity,” and the PTI chief hoped he would work honestly and implement his party’s vision.
Usman joined Khan’s PTI party before the July 25 elections and has been affiliated in the past with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam.
Buzdar is a tribe settled in southern Punjab and Usman’s father was also elected as provincial lawmaker in past.
Usman’s father is also chief of the Buzdar tribe.
The Punjab Assembly will elect the new chief minister on Sunday.