PESHAWAR: Workers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Peshawar district, have begun a campaign against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra for what they claimed not inviting them to the party functions at the Governor’s House.

PML-N Peshawar district president Abdul Sattar Khalil told Dawn that the workers had always rendered matchless sacrifices for strengthening the party, especially during the regime of former president Pervez Musharraf, but they were completely ignored by the party’s leadership.

“Party workers are not invited to the functions held at the Governor’s House during the visit of our top leaders and federal ministers to Peshawar. They’re ignored even during the recent visit of President Mamnoon Hussain,” he said.

The PML-N leader said the workers had developed differences with former governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan on similar issues and expected Mr. Jhagra of aptly honouring the party people, but to no avail.

Complain not being invited to party functions at Governor’s House

“We haven’t demanded anything of the governor for ourselves but that doesn’t mean that he ignores senor party people. The Governor’s House is in the grip of some influential people. Workers will no more allow them to serve own interests,” he said.

Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan, too, faced such a situation as the governor.

A number of PML-N office-bearers had run a campaign in media and asked the governor to open gates for workers. Similar complaint is also being made against Mr. Jhagra.

Abdul Sattar Khalil is one of the PML-N office-bearers, who were first to welcome the appointment of Mr. Jhagra as governor. However, things appear to have changed with the passage of time.

When contacted, provincial PML-N information secretary Nasir Khan Musazai said the anti-governor campaign went against the party’s interests.

He said Abdul Sattar Khalil was invited to the Governor’s House function marking the birthdays of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but he was not given the opportunity to cut the cake on the occasion and therefore, he got infuriated.

“Organiser Ali Khan had sought apology for not inviting Mr. Khalil for the cake cutting and therefore, the latter should not make it an issue,” he said.

Mr. Musazai said the only solution to the PML-N grouping was the holding of the intra-party elections so that the people would get new assignments and stop spreading baseless stories against each others.

PML-N provincial general secretary Rahmat Salam Khattak said the anti-governor statements would cause immense damages to the party.

He asked for an immediate end to the drive saying whatever was going on was against the party’s interests.

Mr. Khattak opted not to further speak on the matter but confirmed the intra-party elections had been pending for one year. “I do not have any information about the schedule of the intra-party elections,” he said.

Published in Dawn January 3rd, 2017