GUJRAT: The ruling PML-N may face a big jolt in Gujrat as the party’s old guard, MPA Malik Hanif Awan, who has also been a district party president for two decades, is said to be upset at being ignored by the party leadership, and his group is said to be weighing the option of quitting the party.
Sources said the MPA and his nephew, former PML-N MNA Jamil Awan, were feeling neglected in the affairs of the district at the hands of the administration as well as the party’s Kotla group, led by MNA Abid Raza Kotla and his brother MPA Shabeer and their other brother Tanveer Kotla, the district council chairman, calling the shots in the local politics.
Hanif Awan, who was first elected as an MPA in 1997, remained a staunch PML-N loyalist particularly during the Musharraf regime and had faced the then PML-Q government in Punjab.
He has been the party’s Gujrat district president since 1999 however he has not been active in the affairs of the party for the last few years and did not even attend an important meeting of party lawmakers from Gujranwala division convened by Nawaz Sharif in Lahore around a week ago.
Sources close to Awan said he had adopted the policy of ‘no interference’ in any matter of the party and district administration to give a free hand to his rival Kotla group.
The Kotlas were allegedly promoted in the district on the directions of party leaders such as Hamza Shahbaz.
Reliable sources in the administration also confirmed that there were clear instructions from the higher ups in the Punjab government that in case of any confrontation between the Kotlas and Awan group, the recommendations of Kotlas regarding the affairs of NA-107 (now NA-71) comprising parts of Kharian and Sarai Alamgir tehsils would prevail.
Interestingly, the Kotla group was part of the PPP till 2002 and then PML-Q until 2008 after which they had joined the PML-N that too through the efforts of Hanif Awan.
Jamil Awan had been elected as an MNA from NA-107 and Irfanuddin of Kotla group MPA from PP-115 (Kharian-Kotla) in 2008.
However in 2012, Jamil was disqualified over dual nationality and subsequently Hanif Awan was given the PML-N ticket in the by-polls held in December 2012 that he had won with a huge margin.
The situation changed within a few months as the Kotlas managed to snatch the party ticket in NA-107 from Awans that went to Abid Raza and his brother Shabeer for NA and PA-115, respectively in the May 2013 elections whereas Hanif Awan was asked to contest on PP-114.
Since 2013, the Kotlas had become favourites of the PML-N and were being showered with blessings of the senior party leadership during the last five years. In fact, Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz also addressed a public meeting hosted by the Kotlas in March, further strengthening the bond.
When asked, Jamil Awan claimed their supporters in the constituency had been pressing his uncle Hanif to contest the upcoming general elections against Abid Raza on NA-71. Keeping in view closeness of the Kotlas with the senior party leadership, it was not possible for them to press the party for issuance of the National Assembly ticket that was why the Awan group had been weighing options for the next general elections in consultation with their supporters.
“However, no decision has so far been made in this regard. Quitting the PML-N, contesting as independent or joining another party are open options for the group as we are not ready to contest as a pair with the Kotlas whose agenda is entirely different from ours that has been proved in the last five years,” said the former MNA.
He added that he did not want to talk against the party leadership for allegedly ignoring his group nor did he want to count the sacrifices his family had rendered for the party in the district.
Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2018
