November 27, 2007	Tuesday	Ziqa’ad 16, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Nov 26: Senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Makhdoom Javed Hashmi on Monday filed nomination papers for two National Assembly seats of Rawalpindi city against former minister and six-time winner Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.

Mr Hashmi, who himself had been the winner in five elections since 1985, submitted the papers to the returning officer to contest the January 8 election on NA-55 Rawalpindi-VI and NA-56 Rawalpindi-VII seats on Monday night after arriving in the city from Multan.

Talking to Dawn after submitting his papers, Mr Hashmi said he had jumped into the election field in Rawalpindi for the first time on the directive of the party high command which wanted him to help the party get back its two traditional seats. He said the two Rawalpindi seats had traditionally been the PML-N’s seats but these were snatched in the October 2002 election by deception. He believed that he could do a great service to the party by getting its two seats back.

Sheikh Rashid, who had previously won all the elections from 1985 to 1997 on the PML-N ticket, had contested the Oct 2002 election as an independent candidate and later joined the PML-Q. Mr Ahmed won both the seats in the election but later vacated NA- 56 where his nominated candidate lost the election to Hanif Abbasi of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal. The PML-N leaders alleged that Sheikh Rashid during his election campaign had used the name of Nawaz Sharif to win the election but Mr Ahmed has always denied the charge.

When contacted, Sheikh Rashid welcomed the decision of his one time close friend and party colleague Mr Hashmi to contest the election against him. However, he claimed that by putting Mr Hashmi against him in Rawalpindi, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif had actually ousted Javed Hashmi from Lahore. “Nawaz Sharif is trying to achieve two objectives through this decision. Number one he wants to give me a tough fight and number two he wants Mr Hashmi’s defeat,” said a confident Mr Ahmed. He said he believed that his real contest would be with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in both the constituencies.

Moreover, he said, the opposition was still divided over the issue of finalisation of the candidates against him.

Mr Hashmi has filed papers in five National Assembly constituencies - two each in Rawalpindi and Multan and one in Lahore. He submitted all the nomination papers on Monday.