ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Usman Dar stepped down as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Youth Affairs on Friday.

The Cabinet Division subsequently de-notified him as the prime minister’s aide at his wish.

Usman Dar has sought Prime Minister Imran Khan’s nod to run campaign for the upcoming by-election in a National Assembly constituency in Sialkot (NA-75) slated for February 19.

Earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) served him a notice over running the campaign for the by-poll despite holding a government post. He decided to relinquish his post in light of the election rules to run the campaign.

Sources said he can be re-appointed as the SAPM on youth affairs after the by-election is over.

The seat fell vacant after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Syed Iftikharul Hassan Shah died of the coronavirus on August 2. The by-elections on NA-75 and a provincial assembly seat (PP-51 -Gujranwala) are scheduled to be held on February 19. NNI