Usman Dar steps down as SAPM to run NA-75 campaign

ISLAMABAD: PTI leader Usman Dar has stepped down as special assistant to the prime minister on youth affairs. The Cabinet Division de-notified after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) sent a notice to Dar for taking part in the Sialkot by-election. The PTI leader could not run the campaign as he was holding a government post, which was against the election rules.

Dar will contest the election from the city's NA-75 area and will, according to sources, resume his official duty as the prime minister's special assistant after the election. Dar said that he had decided to step down after holding consultations with Prime Minister Imran Khan when he started receiving notifications from the ECP.

"I will fully take part in the NA-75 by-elections," he said. The seat fell vacant when PML-N MNA Syed Iftikharul Hassan Shah died of coronavirus on August 2. A provincial assembly and National Assembly election for the seat will be held on February 19.