December 03, 2007	Monday	Ziqa'ad 22, 1428

MUZAFFARGARH, Dec 2: With Farooq Azam declared Pakistan People’s Party candidate for NA-178, almost all significant PML-Q leaders in the district have now switched over to the party.

Farooq Azam is a brother of former state minister and an accused in a murder case Shahid Jameel Qureshi who is now behind the bars. The party has preferred Farooq to Jamshed Dasti who had resigned as union council nazim and also went to Karachi to receive Ms Benazir Bhutto along with a big caravan. However, the gig could not win him the party ticket.

Former MPA Qaswar Langrial who was elected in 2002 on PML-Q ticket has already joined the PPP.

The high demand for party ticket is however causing concern among old PPP politicians like Malik Arbi Khar, who is also former MNA and a brother of Ghulam Mustafa Khar who has been assured by the party top-brass of a reserved seat for his wife Samia khar

A B Mujahid, who has been cleared by the party high command for PP-254, told Dawn that he requested Ms Bhutto for the ticket, telling her that he had been working for the PPP since 1977. At this the party cancelled the ticket of Irshad Ahmad Sial in his favour, he claimed.

Earlier, Rana Mehboob Akhtar was nominated as PPP candidate for PP-255 but now Hina Rabbani’s father Noor Rabbani khar was also trying for the party ticket for one of his group members whose name was not being disclosed.

When Dawn correspondent contacted Jamshed Dasti, he said he would contest election in any case, claiming the PPP ticket for NA-178 had not been finalised yet. Dasti has been a staunch supporter of former district nazim Qayyum Jatoi who had reportedly promised him the PPP ticket. Jatoi himself has been allotted the PPP ticket for NA-179 while his brother-in-law Moazzam is a party candidate for NA-180.