January 23, 2008	Wednesday	Muharram 13, 1429

MUZAFFARGARH, Jan 22: The Pakistan People’s Party is facing a crisis situation as its two contenders for national assembly seats are allegedly supporting an MMA hopeful for a provincial assembly slot against their own man.

PPP candidate for PP-257 Jam Mazhar is being opposed by the party’s candidates for NA-178 and NA-179 who are campaigning for the MMA candidate against Jam.

Jam Mazhar told Dawn on Tuesday that some union councils of his constituency fell in NA-178 and some in NA-179. Both PPP candidates from NA-178 and NA-179, Jamshed Dasti and Moazzam Jatoi, were backing MMA’s Qaswar Kareem Langrial, he said. Malik Qaswar is a former PML-Q MPA.

Advocate Mazhar said Dasti and Jatoi were holding their meetings and campaigning with the MMA -– a step which was against the party discipline. He said the late Benazir Bhuuto was against the MMA because of its policies and the PPP men here were flying in the face of the late leader’s policy.

He said he had sent a report to the party high command, informing them that Jatoi had got published posters and pamphlets on which the MMA candidate’s publicity figured along with that of the PPP’s. He said he would send a detailed report to PPP chairperson Asif Ali Zardari.

When contacted, Jamshed Dasti said Qaswar Langrial had a large vote bank and first he left the PML-Q to join the PPP, but the party confirmed Jam Mazhar as candidate. He said Jam was a weaker candidate and Qaswar, after winning the seat, would join the PPP. He said Moazzam Jatoi had started campaign for Langrial and former district nazim Sardar Qayyum Jatoi had also told PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto about the situation when she came here on Dec 25.