PML-N seeks PPP's support in NA-249 by-election

• Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Miftah Ismail meet Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in Karachi ahead of NA-249 by-election.
• Bilawal says he will respond to PML-N's request for support after consultations with party leadership.
• The by-election will be held on April 29.

The PML-N has approached PPP seeking its support in the NA-249 by-election — the National Assembly spot that has fallen vacant after PTI's Faisal Vawda was elected as a Senator.

The development, according to PPP, came during a meeting between party chairperson Bilawal Bhutto and PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, with PPP's Sherry Rehman, Naveed Qamar, and PML-N's Miftah Ismail, candidate for NA-249, present.

Responding to Abbasi's request, the PPP chairperson said he would get back to the former prime minister after consultations with his party leadership.

The by-election will be held on April 29.

Candidates were asked to submit their nomination papers between March 13 and March 17. Those seeking to withdraw from the by-elections will be able to do so by April 7.

The scrutiny process will start on March 25.

Vawda had resigned after casting his vote in the Senate elections on March 3. The last NA-249 election had been a close contest, with Vawda securing 35,344 votes to defeat Shahbaz who polled 34,626 votes.

This will be the second closely watched by-election in the last month. The government and Opposition parties are also getting ready for the re-polling in Daska's NA-75 scheduled for April 10.

The earlier polls in Daska were marred by chaos. Two people were killed during a violent clash between PTI and PML-N workers, while after the disappearance of 20 presiding officers of the constituency late in the night, the ECP had  declared the election invalid.