ISLAMABAD: Months after his removal as secretary general of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q), Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed was relieved of his position as parliamentary leader of the party in the Senate on “disciplinary grounds”.

The PML-Q on Wednesday officially informed the Senate Secretariat that the party leadership had nominated senator from Balochistan Saeedul Hassan Mandokhel as its new parliamentary leader in place of Mushahid Hussain.

The move from the party has come a week after Mushahid Hussain’s mysterious role during the crucial voting on the 24th Constitution Amendment Act seeking new delimitation of the constituencies. The PML-Q had decided to oppose the bill, and its lone member present in the house at that time, Kamil Ali Agha, voted against it in line with party policy.

However, the reporters covering the parliamentary proceedings were surprised to see Senator Mushahid in the hall soon after the voting process was over. In a brief chat with reporters, Mr Hussain, however, claimed that he had supported the bill.

On the other hand, Senator Agha had said that he had acted in accordance with the party policy as he had been assigned the duty to remain present in the house. He said a lawmaker who failed to follow party policy in voting on a constitutional amendment was disqualified for ‘floor-crossing’.

Sources in the PML-Q said that the decision had been made by the leadership after receiving reports that Mr Hussain, who is set to retire as senator in March next year after completion of his six-year term, had been in contact with the PML-N leadership as he desired to be re-elected as the senator from Islamabad seat.

Mr Hussain, who was once considered to be a close confidant of the Chaudhris of Gujrat, had been removed from the office of the party’s secretary general a few months back and PML-Q MNA Tariq Bashir Cheema had been named as the new secretary general.

A senior PML-Q office-bearer said that party president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was very “angry and upset” over Mr Hussain’s act of “ditching” the party. He said that Mr Hussain had made up his mind to change his loyalty as he knew that he would not be able to regain the seat if he remained in the PML-Q.

The PML-Q leader said Chaudhry Shujaat was angry because he had to “beg” before PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in 2012 to get the ticket for Mr Hussain.

When contacted for his comments, Mr Hussain, who is currently in the US to look after his ailing sister, said that he did not give much importance to the latest party decision of removing him as the parliamentary leader.

When asked about the reports that he was planning to join the PML-N, he said: “Right now, politics is far away from my mind as my family, particularly my sister, is my paramount priority. I will revert to politics on my return to Pakistan in the New Year.”

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2017