December 18, 2007	Tuesday	Zilhaj 7, 1428

MUZAFFARGARH, Dec 17: District administration officials are involved in electioneering for Pakistan Muslim League-Q candidates, rivals allege. They claim that PML-Q candidates are visiting offices of the district administration officials in connection with public affairs as per routine, and the officials give them full protocol.

Ashiq Gopang is one of the PML-Q candidates who has benefited the official benevolence recently, claims PPP district information secretary Malik Mazhar Pahoor.

Gopang is contesting for NA-180 against Qayyum Jatoi of the PPP and PML-N’s Jamil Bukhari. Jatoi has never been defeated from this constituency.

Talking to reporters, Mazhar Pahoor said DCO Dr Akhtar Nazir Warraich, EDO Education Sultan Baghaila and EDO Health Dr Habibul Rahman visited Gopang’s residence on Dec 8 where they discussed strategy to win the elections. Later, Gopang threw a luncheon party on them at Head Punjnad Barrage resort.

The PPP information secretary told Dawn that all school headmasters and local health and revenue officials attended the luncheon party.

Pahoor said former chief minister Pervaiz Elahi was taking interest in Gopang’s electioneering because he wanted to defeat PPP candidate and former district nazim Qayyum Jatoi, and in this connection he had directed the officials to help Gopang win at any cost. He alleged that during the Dec 8 meeting, a master plan of rigging was prepared.

He also said he had given an application to the chief election commissioner and PPP election cell in-charge, Latif Khosa, to take action against these officials who were still following Pervaiz Elahi’s ‘directives’.

Pahoor demanded that these officials should be transferred from this district to ensure free, fair and transparent elections.

The DCO and the health and education EDOs, however, denied that they visited Gopang’s residence.

The DCO said he visited Alipur only when former chief minister visited the area in November this year.

Pervaiz Elahi is also interested in another constituency, NA-178, where the PML-Q has fielded Nawabzada Iftikhar Ahmad who had joined the PML-Q in March this year.

According to sources, Farooq Azam Qureshi, the brother of jailed state minister Shahid Jameel Qureshi, has returned PPP ticket for NA-178 after the government assured him the release of his brother.

The family sources said Farooq Azam returned the PPP ticket only after the government and Pervaiz Elahi assured him that Shahid Jameel Qureshi would be released if they would not contest the elections and instead help Iftikhar win from NA-178.

Farooq Azam was in a commanding position and could have won this seat quite conveniently, but to rescue his jailed brother, he left the electioneering race quietly and went abroad.

Similarly, Nawabzada Mansoor Ahmad has left NA-178 constituency to help his brother, Iftikhar, win easily. The sources said Mansoor was now focusing on his electioneering for NA-179 only.

Now Iftikhar will face PPP candidate Jamshed Dasti, who is a union council nazim and has no vote bank in the constituency. PML-N candidate Ihsan Karim Qureshi is also a comparatively weak candidate and cannot give tough time to Iftikhar too.