MUZAFFARGARH, Nov 2: All except one MNA and MPA belonging to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) did not attend annual workers’ convention held at the District Council Hall here on Saturday evening.

The PPP had won all the five National Assembly seats from this district in the Feb 18 elections beside five seats of the Punjab Assembly.

Dawn has learned that only one MNA and one MPA participated in the workers convention held first time after the PPP came into power, disappointing workers who were expecting all of their elected representatives to show up.

MNA Mian Mohsin Ali Qureshi, who is also PPP district president, and MPA Irshad Ahmad Sial, who is Muzaffargarh tehsil president, were those who attended the convention.

PPP district information secretary Mazhar Pahoor told Dawn that he had invited all PPP office-bearers from across the district, including the MPAs and MNAs.

Though hundreds of PPP workers turned up from all tehsils, conspicuous by their absence were the four MNAs and four MPAs of the party.

Speakers criticised MNAs Jamshed Dasti, Moazzam Jatoi, Qayyum Jatoi and Hina Rabbani Khar and MPAs Engineer Bilal Khar, Chunnu Khan Leghari and the remaining two for skiving the convention.

District Bar Association president Zubaidul Slam Shirwani said that he had urged President Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Punjab president Rana Aftab Ahmed Khan to take action against PPP MNAs and MPAs for ignoring the party function.

The participants of the convention passed a resolution demanding that MNA Mohsin Qureshi be elevated as a minister in the federal cabinet or be made district nazim to fill the slot lying vacant after Qayyum Jatio tendered resignation to contest the National Assembly elections.

MNA Moazzam Jatoi’s secretary told Dawn that Moazzam was very busy so he could not attend the convention. Similarly, Qayyum Jatoi’s secretary said that the MNA was out of town, so he could not make it to the workers function.