In Islamabad, the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) announced on Saturday their selection of Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the chief of Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP), as their nominee for the presidency.
The decision, made public today, positions Achakzai to vie for the top constitutional role against Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, who is running as the joint candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and other coalition partners slated to form the central government.
Achakzai, who secured the National Assembly seat from Balochistan’s NA-266 constituency encompassing Kila Abdullah-cum-Chaman, emerged as the SIC’s preferred choice.
PTI founder Imran Khan, currently detained in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, has urged his party’s lawmakers to throw their support behind Achakzai.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan has officially confirmed Achakzai’s nomination for the presidential election.