MUZAFFARABAD, July 24: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) chapter of Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) was left disappointed on Wednesday after the party’s central leadership advised it through media not to become part of a no-trust move against Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed.
The PML-N had held a meeting on Tuesday where it was decided to unconditionally support the no-confidence move initiated by some dissident lawmakers of the ruling Peoples Party.
The PML-N AJK president and leader of the opposition Raja Farooq Haider had been vowing a day in and day out that Mr Majeed’s “corrupt government” would soon be sent packing by them.
However, only a day after throwing its weight behind dissident PPAJK lawmakers, the PML-N AJK was left high and dry after coming to know, initially through some private TV channels, that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had decided to keep his party away from the move.
Later, sources told Dawn, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Barjees Tahir conveyed Prime Minister Sharif’s message to Mr Haider that they should not become a party in the no-trust motion.
Interestingly, earlier in the day Mr Tahir had said the PML-N would support the no-confidence motion against Mr Majeed.
However, the federal minister had made it clear that the federal government was not behind the no-trust move, which was initiated by the ruling PPP members.
Sources said Mr Haider told Mr Tahir that he had been seeking an appointment from Prime Minister Sharif on the very issue since long but it was not granted.
“The decision to support the no-trust move was taken after detailed discussion on its merits and demerits by the PML-N AJK parliamentary party and key office-bearers,” he was quoted as telling the minister.
Sources said the PML-N AJK president, who was in Islamabad, had sought an appointment with Mr Sharif, which he was likely to be granted on Wednesday-Thursday night.
In the meanwhile, Mr Haider had asked his colleagues to wait for the outcome of his meeting with the party chief to decide the future course of action.
However, ordinary workers of PML-N AJK were down in the dumps following the latest stance of their top leadership which had come as a bolt from the blue.
“We know and our local leaders had also been repeatedly telling us that Mr Majeed’s government is corrupt to the hilt and today when an appropriate occasion has arrived to send it home, our top leadership has virtually come to its rescue by telling our legislators to remain impartial,” commented a charged PML-N worker outside the MLA hostel here.
“This amounts to surrendering ourselves to the corruption and inefficiency,” he added.
However, the PML-N MLAs avoided offering any comments and said they were waiting for the guidelines from the party leadership.
On the other hand, Mr Majeed was quick to express his gratitude to Prime Minister Sharif “for taking stock of the attempts to create unrest in AJK in the name of no-confidence motion and advising his party to stay away from it.”
“Prime Minister Sharif had stated soon after the elections (in Pakistan) that he would respect the mandate of all parties and I am grateful to him for accepting the mandate of Peoples Party in AJK,” said Mr Majeed at a press conference in Kashmir House.
