PESHAWAR: As Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz faces internal strife in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, local annoyed workers of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif-led party have decided to hold a rally against leadership outside the Governor’s House in the provincial capital on Oct 12 for ignoring them.

Senior PML-N activists told Dawn on Sunday that the party’s central leadership, federal ministers and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor had neglected them and other old guards and that their repeated requests to address their misery had fallen on deaf ears.

According to them, the decision to protest against leadership was made a few days ago at the house of Peshawar district president Abdul Sattar Khalil, where many senior activists and office- bearers were in attendance.

Noted among participants were Rashid Mehmood Khan, Waqif Khan, Farhad Ali, Sharafat Kahn, Sardar Khan, Malik Ayaz Afridi, Ijaz Khan, Shah Nawaz Urmar, Muazzam Bacha, Haji Habibur Rehman, Qari Azizullah, Habib Khan, Janas Khan, Nasrullah and Malik Asifullah.

They insisted some influential people had controlled the office of the provincial governor and that they had closed the doors of the governor’s house for sincere workers.

Know more: Central leadership’s disinterest costing PML-N dear in KP

The participants said the leadership had neglected all those party activists, who had rendered great sacrifices during the Musharraf dictatorial regime, and that a group of ‘selfish’ people had managed to get close to it.

When contacted, PML-N Peshawar district president Abdul Sattar Khalil said it was a fact that workers were very angry at the indifference of the party’s central leadership and federal ministers.

He said activists were also upset with President Mamnoon Hussain, who came to Peshawar but didn’t bother to meet them.

“We, PML-N workers, have become political orphans in the province first because the government here is of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and second because our own ministers and governor don’t pay us any attention,” he said.

He said a ‘grand meeting’ of the PML-N Peshawar workers had been convened in Hayatabad to be followed by another meeting of the provincial office-bearers to make a strategy for the Oct 12 rally outside the Governor’s House in Peshawar against leadership.

“We have been in contact with many senior party activists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as Punjab, who are against the dictatorial behaviour of the leadership, federal ministers and provincial governor. It is time that we take a firm stand on it,” he said.

Abdul Sattar said the officials of Wapda, SNGPL and other departments of federal government didn’t attend to the problems of PML-N workers and that unrest was increasing among workers, who were no more ready to keep silent over ‘injustices’.

He said party activists had many complaints against leadership and that they would put a charter of demands before media on Oct 12.

The PML-N leader said workers had had enough of the ‘rough attitude’ of leaders and therefore, they had decided to protest against them.

“We’ll formally launch a campaign on Oct 12. Rallies will also be taken out in different districts of the province,” he said.

Abdul Sattar said the PML-N federal ministers didn’t bother to inform local office-bearers of the party about their visit to the province and that they had contacts with officers of the relevant departments only.

“The PTI government has failed to initiate mega projects in the province so far but on the other side, our party’s federal government has also failed to take some steps for the people’s welfare in the militancy-hit province,” he said.

The PML-N leader said the activists linked to influential people in the centre got their problems resolved in no time but the rest stood neglected.

“I have been in politics for 30 years and have experienced many problems but have never seen such a harsh time for party and its workers. Unfortunately, all this is happening when our own party rules the centre,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2014