LAHORE, Aug 8: Punjab PML-N secretary-general Zaeem Qadri condemns the defections from his party being caused by the chief minister and says they are part of the rigging plan the ruling party has prepared to win the local polls.

At a news conference here on Monday, he said the PML-N would not change its political course and would continue its struggle for a democratic system.

Some important PML-N leaders of Multan, one of them a sitting MPA, joined the ruling party in the presence of Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi on Sunday, dealing a serious blow to the party at a time when the local elections are only 10 days away.

Zaeem Qadri said what the chief minister had done was part of ‘political dacoity’. Some people, he said, had left the PML-N when the government of Nawaz Sharif was toppled in October 1999. Others, he said, were changing loyalties now for their interests.

He made it clear that the party would not take the turncoats back. This was a solemn undertaking which the party would not violate at any cost, he said.

Qadri said the Punjab chief minister had enforced what he called a dictatorial rule in the province. However, he believed that the ruling party would vanish like the Convention League.

Asked whether the party had devised any strategy to prevent defections, Qadri said those leaving the party would be held accountable by the electorates.

He said his party was not struggling for power. Instead, he claimed, it was working for democratic principles.

He was critical of the acting chief election commissioner’s attitude, saying the CEC was facilitating the ruling party and creating problems for the opposition.

He claimed that the opposition parties would win in case the elections were held in a free and fair manner.

Shahbaz: The PML-N will take an active part in the local elections, says the party’s president.

Shahbaz Sharif expressed his apprehension at a meeting in London that the government might use the state machinery to get results of its liking.

He said the party would monitor the polls and expose the government designs. He believed that the party would sweep if the elections were free and fair.

Party secretary-general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra said international observers should monitor the polls. He said the government was violating the ban on postings and transfers.

Nisar Ali Khan, Syed Ghous Ali Shah, Khwaja Asif and Farrukh Shah were also present at the meeting.