August 08, 2006	Tuesday	Rajab 12, 1427

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GUJRAT, Aug 7: The defeat of no-trust move against Kharian Tehsil Nazim Nadeem Asghar Kaira on Monday was so unexpected for the rival Chaudhrys that they have demanded resignations from the members of their group in the house who cast votes on the issue.

In an extraordinary development, about 50 house members who had assured their support for the no-trust move at a meeting held at Nat House on Sunday were again summoned and were asked to submit their resignations with District Nazim Chaudhry Shafaat Hussain.

Sources privy to the meeting said the defeat of the no-trust move was quite unexpected for the Chaudhries which panicked them to the extent that they demanded resignations from almost the whole electorate. The resignations would be forwarded to the Election Commission on Tuesday (today), said the sources quoting the key members of the Chaudhry group.

The move has created a crisis in the local politics as according to the law governing the local governments fresh polls will be held within two months of the acceptance of the resignations.

The Chaudhrys suffered a major setback when their no-trust move against the nazim was defeated by six votes.

The house comprised 61 members while a two third majority (41 votes) was needed to oust the tehsil nazim.

Two house members, Chaudhry Talib (Kotla UC naib nazim) and Chaudhry Rasheed (Ach UC naib nazim) tabled the no-trust move and submitted it to Tehsil Naib Nazim Irfan Naseer Marala.

The polling was held through secret ballot under the supervision of a returning officer in which ten house members did not participate. According to the result, 35 votes were cast in favour of the move, while ten were polled against it. Six votes were rejected by the returning officer.

Nadeem Asghar Kaira, son of former MNA Haji Asghar Kaira (late), was first elected to Kharian tehsil nazim slot by defeating former provincial minister Mian Tariq of Dinga in 2001 local elections. Later, his cousins Qamar Zaman Kaira and Tanvir Ashraf Kaira were elected MNA and MPA, respectively, in October 2002 elections. He was again elected tehsil nazim in October 2005 elections at the time when he was facing three cases and was behind the bars. This time he defeated PML nominee Syed Noorul Hasan Shah by a slight margin of two votes. Political pundits had claimed that Kaira defeated Shah due to differences among leaguers.

After Kaira was elected tehsil nazim for the second term, the Chaudhris, who always wanted to oust him, convened several meetings of leaguers and asked them to bury the hatchets and get united on a single platform. Meanwhile, Kaira convened the budget session in June but it was rejected by a majority of house members.

In the last meeting convened by MNA Wajahat Hussain and District Nazim Shafaat Hussain at Nat House on Sunday, around 50 elected representatives reportedly assured them of their support for the no-trust move. However, only 35 votes were cast in favour of the move.