Former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Friday he would contest election on the symbol of qalam and dwat (pen and ink) from two constituencies of Rawalpindi - NA-56 and 57 - where he worked a lot for his constituents. Speaking to reporters after joining a case proceeding in the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench, the Awami Muslim League chief said that after ‘seclusion’ he had stopped using social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), and only read newspaper.

He said no one mistreated him (during his absence he refer to as spiritual seclusion) and he did not testify against anyone. He reiterated that he remained in ‘seclusion’ for 40 days during which no one troubled him. He said he was confident that the general elections would be held on Feb 8 following the statement of Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja. We should trust him (CEC), he added. “I will launch my election campaign soon after the schedule will be announced,” he added.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)