LAHORE: Women workers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday protested against their leaders for ignoring them in the priority lists of the candidates for the reserved seats.

Holding a demonstration outside the PML-N Model Town party office, the women workers chanted slogans for their right to the reserved seats saying the leadership should not have ‘obliged’ those who paid only lip service.

“I have 32-year-old long association with the PML-N. The leadership should not have ignored me and other diehard workers who had gone to jail for the cause of the party,” a woman worker said.

She said those who spent their lives for the cause of the party and underwent police torture while protesting on roads were not given importance in the party.

The party activist said a bunch of opportunist women leaders had surrounded the leadership that blocked the genuine workers’ access to it. “We will go for a sit-in outside the Model Town and Jati Umra residences of the Sharifs,” she said.

Another woman reminded the leaders that she and other workers tirelessly worked to ensure victory of Begum Kalsoom Nawaz in NA-120 by-election. “We did our bit by distributing food among people as part of the campaign,” she said.

Former federal information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and her mother Tahira Aurangzeb have been given top priority in the party list finalised for women candidates on reserved seats.

Marriyum Aurangzeb tried to pacify them saying their grievances would be redressed as the party acknowledged their sacrifices.

Former Punjab finance minister Ayesha Ghaus-Pasha and former MNAs Shaista Pervaiz Malik, Kiran Dar, Maiza Hameed, Shahzadi Tiwana and Rida Khan are others in the PML-N priority list.

PTI: The award of tickets even for reserved seats has also become a worrying issue for the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) as those denied nominations protested and cried foul over the process.

Women activists raised slogans alleging that ‘genuine’ workers had been ignored in the award of tickets for women reserved seats for July 25 vote. They claimed that merit was violated while selecting the candidates for seats reserved for women both in National and Punjab Assembly.

The activists who were not given party tickets for general seats also held a meeting under the chair of noted lawyer Hamid Khan. They decided to approach chairman Imran Khan with a request to review the award of tickets.

And if the request was denied, they would hold a peaceful protest at Banigala on return of Mr Khan from Saudi Arabia after performing Umrah there.

The women activists said they would rather spend their Eid day at Banigala protesting the “slaughtering of merit” in the candidates’ selection process.

Sources say Dr Sania Sajid has decided to quit the party as newcomers have been accommodated ignoring her over a decade-long services for the party. She immediately left various WhatsApp groups of the party to show her anger and say goodbye to some members in separate ‘inbox’ messages.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2018