RAWALPINDI: Former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday accused former prime minister Nawaz Sharif of being “bereft of loyalty”.

Mr Khan said Mr Sharif had not been loyal to him even though he worked hard for him for 34 years.

“Nawaz was bereft of loyalty but the people of my constituency will not leave me alone on July 25,” he told a public rally in Chakri.

Mr Khan said he did not use nefarious tactics against his opponents and paid attention to his duty to work for the people. He said that he believed in serving the people, not deceiving them.

He said he had always held his head high in politics and could not bow down before anyone.

Mr Khan remarked that even though he could have gotten a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf ticket had he wanted one, he was not dependent on anyone’s party ticket.

Addressing his supporters, he declared one of his opponents to be illiterate and said the other became a federal minister because he was a traditional opponent of Mr Khan’s.

He said his election symbol, a jeep, would win the support of people in the constituencies where he is running, adding: “Many independent candidates are joining the jeep instead of the tiger – the PML-N’s election symbol.”

Meanwhile, PML-N candidate for NA-63 and PP-10 Qamarul Islam Raja’s son Salar Islam Raja and daughter Uswa Islam Raja on Saturday vowed to continue the campaign of their father against Ch. Nisar Ali Khan.

Qamarul Islam Raja, who had been in custody of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) soon after getting PML-N party ticket against Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in NA-63 and PP-10.

In his absence, his 12 year son Salar Islam Raja and his 17 years old daughter Uswa Islam Raja are running his election campaign.

Addressing the press conference, Salar Islam Raja and Uswa Islam Raja said that they thanked the people of the constituency for their support.

They said that Maryum Nawaz made a telephone call from London and assured all kind of support for them. “All the party leaders even the PML-N candidate Azhar Abbas in PP-10 are supporting Qamarul Islam Raja for July 25 elections,” said Salar islam Raja.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2018