Tiger stamped

•  Tiger steals the show in the city, restricts the captain’s team to a few singles and doubles
• Political leaders, influentials, felicitate Nawaz for bagging most seats in polls 

The tigers had had a good hunt and it was now their time to feast. The phones kept buzzing, the flowers poured down on them hard as they filled themselves up with sweets and some pride. As for the situation in the captain’s pavilion, the air smelled of anger although the team had not done bad for a debut and had managed to score a few doubles and singles.

While on one end of the city, a stand-off between the diehard supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz was reported, the city’s other end reeked of jubilations with several influentials congratulating Mian Nawaz Shareef and making their presence known to the most probable future prime minister of the country.

On the National Assembly seat, the PML-N has stamped their symbol on majority of the seats with a good number coming from Punjab and its metropolis.

PML-N candidate Saad Rafique won the National Assembly seat after a close contest with PTI candidate Hamid Zaman in NA-125. According to unofficial result, Saad Rafique earned 119,440 votes while PTI candidate Hamid Zaman achieved 81,298 votes and remained runner up.

Moreover, PML-N candidate Muhammad Pervaiz Malik was declared successful by a margin of over 80,000 votes from NA-123. According to unofficial results, Pervaiz Malik obtained 126,887 votes while his rival candidate Atif Chaudhry of PTI obtained 40,617 votes.

As far as the situation in the provincial assembly is concerned, it was yet again the tiger that stole that show.

PML- N candidate Mohsin Latif won his seat from PP-147 by a clear margin of over 6,600 votes. According to unofficial results, Mohsin Latif bagged 36,769 votes while his rival candidate Shoaib Siddiqui of PTI secured 30,142 votes.

However, it was not over for the captain’s teams. PTI also had its share when Mian Aslam Iqbal was declared successful by a margin of over 6000 votes from PP-148. According to unofficial results, Mian bagged 54843 votes while his rival candidate Akhtar Rasool of the PML-N secured 49,784 votes. It was a tough competition.

SAARC CCI CHIEF VIKRAMJIT CONGRATULATES NAWAZ: SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Virkamjit Singh Sahney on Sunday congratulated Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif on his party’s landslide victory in the elections and urged for policy initiatives for durable future economic trade relations among SAARC member countries, especially between India and Pakistan.

Sahnay asked SAARC Vice President (VP) Iftikhar Ali Malik to convey his wishes to the PML-N leader.

He said that businessman turned politician Nawaz Sharif had economic vision and hoped that in the future trade ties and bilateral relations between Pakistan and India would improve significantly.

He said that a stable and democratic government in Pakistan would steer the country away from economic crisis and defuse tension in the region, paving the way for progress and prosperity.

Vikramjit Sahnay said that political tensions in the South Asian region had discouraged economic integration over the years.

He regretted that nearly 60 percent of total indigenous natural resources in South Asia remain untapped.

“The intra-regional trade figures for South Asian are still disappointing as trade in the region constitutes only 1.4 per cent of the total world imports and 1.2 per cent of global exports. The merchandise trade is only 27.9 per cent of the GDP, the lowest in the world,” he added.

“Although South Asia had significantly reduced import tariffs, the cost of trading across its borders was one of the highest in the world,” he further informed.

Moreover, he said that non-tariff barriers had been identified which hampered trade and increased costs in South Asia.

Iftikhar Ali Malik thanked Virkamjit and all the other VPs for extending whole hearted greetings to Nawaz Sharif on his election victory.

YDA HOLDS OUT OLIVE BRANCH TO PML-N: Punjab Young Doctors Association (YDA) President Dr Javed Ahmed congratulated Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on their success in the elections and hoped that the new government would resolve the long-standing issues of doctors, nurses and paramedics.

He suggested that the new government should delegate a health minister, adding that a comprehensive health policy was essential.

He said that the YDA had no political motives and the body merely sought to address issues faced by the doctors’ community.

Dr Javed also pointed out that the health sector needed urgent attention and complete revamping to help poor patients. He hoped that PML-N’s new government would take steps in this regard.

FPCCI FELICITATES NAWAZ: The Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Sunday congratulated the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Chief Mian Nawaz Sharif for securing a remarkable victory in the general elections.

This victory reflects PML-N’s popularity in the country, remarked President FPCCI Zubair Ahmed Malik., President FPCCI.

“Mian Nawaz Sharif being a businessman understands the business community’s problems and we expect that he will facilitate business in Pakistan”, he said.

The president said that all developed countries followed the business community’s guidelines for making commerce related policies. He hoped the PML-N government would also adopt a rational and pragmatic approach in this regard.

Zubair Ahmed Malik said that industry in the country was facing energy crisis, adding the newly elected party should take steps for ensuring uninterrupted supply of electricity and gas for sustainable economic growth.

The FPCCI also hoped the PML-N would protect fiscal and monetary policies by giving a legislation cover.

He also expressed the hope that Mian Nawaz Sharif will give positive response to the goodwill gesture conveyed by him from SAARC CCI President Vikram Git Singh Sahney for further improvement in existing regional trade.

Meanwhile, VP SAARC CCI Pakistan chapter Iftikhar Ali Malik has also congratulated Mian Nawaz Sharif for the victory and expressed hope that his success would further boost Pak-India trade and bilateral relations.

JI GREETS NAWAZ ON ELECTION VICTORY: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Syed Munawar Hasan on Sunday congratulated Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on the huge victory of his party in the general elections and said he wished him well.

Syed Munawar Hasan added that government formation by the PML-N would be the party’s greatest test and said he hoped they would fulfill promises made during their campaign.

The JI Ameer felt that the new government would have to face numerous challenges. He said that the country’s economy, industry and agriculture were in ruins, and foreign and internal loans were also a great issue. The energy crisis had worsened significantly, while unemployment and the price hike had made life miserable for the people.

He also said that the law and order was a serious concern. Further, he pointed out the issues of bilateral ties with the US, India and other major countries.

Hasan also expressed the hope that the PML-N government would take austerity measures to overcome the financial crunch and provide relief to the masses.