Differences persist in PML-Q over tickets issue: Upper House poll
By Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD, Jan 14: Differences among the PML-Q and its allied parties and President Pervez Musharraf’s nominees over the distribution of Senate tickets, which has forced revision of schedule for filing of nomination papers, could not be bridged till Tuesday, party sources told Dawn.
PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was engaged in tense and lengthy parleys with Tariq Aziz, a top aide of President Musharraf, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali and other party leaders since Saturday afternoon to reach a consensus list of candidates.
Mr Jamali had met President Musharraf on Sunday to explain to him the differences erupting in the party over some of the nominees from the then Musharraf cabinet.
A party source confided to this reporter that originally the party leadership had agreed to accommodate presidential nominees Shaukat Aziz, Moinuddin Haider and Mohammedmian Soomro, but the power brokers continued to pressure the party to accommodate all of them.
Though it is not clear whether the president had accepted the prime minister’s point of view, the delay in filing of nomination papers indicate that the differences persist. Sources claimed that the decision to delay the filing of papers was taken at a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s House late Sunday.
Party meetings continued on Tuesday but without tangible results, the sources said.
PML-Q Secretary-General Salim Saifullah Khan said the matter would be resolved in consultation with chief ministers after the by-elections were over.
About the NWFP, the secretary-general said he had held meetings with the representatives of PPP (Sherpao), PPP Parliamentarians and the PML-N to ensure that the PML-Q got at least three seats — one each from general seats, and for women and technocrats’ seats.
Chaudhry Shujaat, sources said, was facing resistance from many party stalwarts and the PML-Q allies, particularly the PPP Patriots and the National Alliance.
Sources say the party is reluctant to accommodate Khalid Ranjha, the law minister in the Musharraf cabinet. It has decided to award ticket to former Sindh governor Mohammedmian Soomro against Ilahi Bakhsh Soomro.
Against the demand of National Alliance leader Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari for three seats, two from Sindh and one from Punjab, the PML-Q has agreed to give two seats to it. The PML-Q has accepted only one seat for the PPP (Sherpao) against two as was its demand. Similarly, the PML-Q wants to award only one ticket to the Patriots against the demand of two which, it feels, is “irrational”.
For the NWFP, the PML-Q has agreed to give ticket to Engineer Fazal Hussain for a general seat and to Commander Khalil for a technocrat’s seat.
Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gilani wants his brother, Imtiaz Hussain, a former provincial minister, to be accommodated which the PML-Q has refused to accept.
As far Mian Azhar group, non of its candidates were under consideration, the party sources said.
The name of Mushahid Hussain, a former information minister, has also emerged as the establishment’s nominee, but party leaders are opposed it. The name of Wasim Sajjad, the former chairman of Senate, is almost final.
