Punjab Governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmood on Monday moved his resignation to President Asif Ali Zardari and hoped that President would accept it. Addressing a news conference at the Governor's house Mahmood said "I have forwarded my resignation to President Asif Ali Zardari, I hope it will be accepted. "Ups and downs are part of politics. I will distance myself from the parliamentary politics in the future," he said he quit as the Punjab governor on moral grounds."
It is the right of coming government to nominate its candidate. It may be noted that President Asif Ali Zardari had appointed Makhdoom Ahmad Mahmood as Governor Punjab earlier this year hoping that he would help PPP to win the majority of 48 National Assembly seats of south Punjab. However, PPP could win only one out of 148 seats of Punjab and that too by the Governor's son in Rahimyar Khan district. Mahmood said that he was tendering the resignation to ensure a smooth transfer of power.
He congratulated and paid tribute to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), caretaker government and law enforcement agencies for holding the elections. He also paid tribute to the people who in large number came out of their homes and exercised their right to vote which he added was a positive mood. He hoped that winning party would work according to the aspirations of people and those who faced defeat should accept it like a spirit of sportsmanship and play their role as an effective opposition.