July 23, 2006	Sunday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 26, 1427

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LAHORE, July 22: Sirdar Zulfikar Khosa and Raja Ashfaq Sarwar were elected unopposed president and secretary-general of the Punjab PML-N on Saturday as a result of many behind-the-scene moves in which the top party leadership was also involved.

At a meeting of the Punjab general council held at Raiwind, some 25 kilometres from here, Khosa and Raja were proposed for the top provincial offices by MNA Khwaja Saad Rafiq and outgoing secretary-general Zaeem Husain Qadri, who would have been their challengers if the party’s exiled leadership had not restrained them.

Knowledgeable sources say Saad and Zaeem had been told that Mian Nawaz Sharif did not want them to contest the election against the former Punjab governor and the former minister for forests.

Saad and Zaeem reportedly discussed with their friends in the party the possibility of not participating in the Saturday meeting. However, the two, along with their supporters, changed their minds on the ground that such a decision would create an impression about intra-party differences. “At a time when the party is fighting against the establishment, an impression of intra-party differences will cause a setback to the very cause for which the party has been struggling for years”, a leader said while talking to Dawn.

It is said that imprisoned PML-N leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi was being kept posted of all the developments and he too was of the view that the party should stay united at a time when it was in struggle against dictatorship.

Raja Zafarul Haq, the chairman, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, the secretary-general, and members of the election authority: Ghulam Dastgir Khan, Chaudhry Safdarur Rehman, Rafiq Rajwana, Sardar Mehtab Abbasi and Zain Ansari, were also present at the meeting.

The general council authorized Mr Khosa to appoint the remaining office-bearers for the provincial organisation.

There are indications that Zaeem Qadri would be given some role in the central organizations. However, Saad is not vying for any other role because he is already a member of the National Assembly, a member of the party’s central working committee and the parliamentary board.

Addressing the participants after the brief electoral process, Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq said the rulers were unable to run the country and their policies had dented the image of Pakistan in the world.

Ruling out a deal with the dictatorship, Raja said his party would prefer to offer any sacrifice needed for the restoration of a democratic system. He said the situation was so grave that it had become irrelevant who should lead the campaign against the regime. The PML-N, he said, would be prepared to follow any party leading the movement.

Dismissing claims that the government would hold by-elections on the seats to be vacated by opposition legislators by tendering resignations, the PML-N chairman said people of Pakistan and the international community would not accept such polls.

About the televised speech of Gen Musharraf a few days ago, he said it appeared that the general was not aware of the ground realities. He said the progress the general claimed the country had made over the past few years was nowhere to be seen.

He strongly opposed the policy of the use of force in Balochistan and tribal areas, saying this was not the way to solve the problem. He said Akbar Bugti wanted to have his grievances removed within the framework of the Constitution and he should not be reviled by anyone.

Raja criticized the government for proposing various solutions to the Kashmir dispute, all of which had been rejected by India. New Delhi, he said, did not trust the present rulers and it was for this reason that no progress was seen on any front.

Iqbal Zafar Jhagra said time had come for a decisive struggle against the rulers as mere statements could not dislodge the dictator.

Sardar Mehtab Abbasi alleged that Punjab had always supported dictatorship. He said people of Punjab should play their role for the restoration of democracy.

Zain Ansari said smaller provinces attached their hopes with Punjab and once it gave a call for bringing about a revolution, other federating units would respond.

Khwaja Saad Rafiq said the culture of the PML-N was changing with the passage of time. He said once it was regarded as a party of the establishment but now it was emerging as a symbol of resistance against dictatorship. During such a ‘transition’ difference of opinion on any subject would not be something unusual.

Saad said the exiled Sharifs were playing their role for democracy and Javed Hashmi was also in jail for the sake of a representative rule. “We, too, should not be out of jail”, he said, implying that everybody should do his bit to bring the dictatorial system to an end.

Zaeem criticized all policies of the government.

Khwaja Asif, Begum Tehmina Daultana, Chaudhry Jafar Iqbal, Begum Ishrat Ashraf, Pervaiz Malik, Sardar Ayyaz Sadiq, Begum Najma Hameed, Ajasam Sharif, Mehr Ishtiaq, Rana Tajammal Husain and Arif Sandhail were also among participants.