BAHAWALPUR: The decision of Bahawalpur National Awami Party’s Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi to join the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) came as a surprise for many of its activists and others who claim to have been struggling for the cause of a separate province.

Many an old guard consider it an ‘unwise move’ and allege that Mr Abbasi has joined the PTI to get a ticket for his son Prince Bahawal Abbasi for a National Assembly seat from Ahmedpur East.

Nawab Salahuddin had established the BNAP in 2013 with a sole objective to contest the general election on the demand for the restoration of Bahawalpur province. Among the candidates the party fielded only Makhdoom Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gilani (Uch Sharif ) won the election. Even former minister Malik Farooq Azam lost to PML-N’s Baleeghur Rehman (a federal minister) albeit with a low margin of votes. The dismal performance of the party in the 2013 elections in the three districts was a setback.

After the recent emergence of the Janoobi Punjab Suba Mahaz having MNAs Makhdoom Khusroo Bakhtiar (Rahim Yar Khan), Tahir Bashir Cheema (Bahawalnagar), former MPAs Samiullah Chaudhry and his wife Sumera Samiullah, the activists of the local splinter groups demanding Bahawalpur province expressed their reservations and pinned hopes on Nawab Salahuddin to help them shore up their campaign.

It was a source of satisfaction for them that after the new front announced its demand to create a separate south Punjab province, Nawab Salahuddin and PML-Q MNA Tariq Cheema, a former district nazim of Bahawalpur, met in Lahore and announced a joint movement for the Bahawalpur province restoration after Ramazan.

But their hopes were dashed to the ground after Thursday’s announcement of the BNAP’s abrupt merger with the PTI in Islamabad by Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi after his meeting with Imran Khan.

The activists decried the decision and said it was a great blow to their decades-old struggle.

Speaking to Dawn, the old guard such as Akram Ansari, Nawaz Naji Malik and Muhammad Ajmal said they were shocked to learn about the political development without their consultation. They alleged that Nawab Salahuddin had squandered an opportunity just to have a PTI ticket for his son. They expressed hope that Muhammad Ali Durrani, a former federal information minister, would continue to support their stance and spearhead the movement for Bahawalpur province.

Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi and his aide Farooq Azam Malik could not be contacted despite repeated attempts by this correspondent.

MPA Makhdoom Iftikhar Ali Gilani had also recently announced his decision to join the PTI while Riffat Rehmani, former secretary general of the BNAP, parted ways with the party a few days ago. Besides, former MPA Samiullah Chaudhry and his wife Sumera Samiullah, who earlier stood for the demand of Bahawalpur province, embraced the new group last month.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2018