RAWALPINDI, Dec 22: The local leadership of Pakistan Muslim League (Q) on Sunday lodged a protest with Punjab Chief Minister Pervez Elahi over appointment of Chaudhry Khurshid Zaman as special assistant to the prime minister on political affairs.

The delegation headed by District Naib Nazim Raja Javed Ikhlas and PML-Q Rawalpindi District Secretary General Shaukat Bhatti urged immediate cancellation of the appointment and warned that the entire Tehsil setup of the PML-Q would resign if the government decided to keep Mr Zaman as special assistant to the prime minister.

Talking to the chief minister, they said Mr Zaman had contested national assembly elections on PML-N ticket and had bagged around 20,000 votes. They said the PML-Q candidate from the same constituency Shaukat Bhatti had secured 50,000 plus votes.

They opined it would be unjust to prefer a candidate having a weaker position to party’s own candidate who gave reasonably good showing in the polls.

Their other contention was that Mr Zaman’s family was facing cases in the National Accountability Bureau. They claimed that one of Mr Zaman’s relatives was an absconder and the court had ordered attachment of their property. Patronising such people would bring a bad name to the government, they added.