MIANWALI, Sept 4: Federal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Sher Afgan refused to accept Humair Hayat Khan Rokhri as the ruling party nominee for the district nazim despite a clear announcement from the PML leadership from Lahore on Sunday.

He told a news conference here that the President and prime minister had rejected Rokhri’s candidature.

He extended his thanks to the president, prime minister, Chaudhry Shujaat Husain and Mushahid Husain for giving him a patient hearing on political affairs of the Mianwali district.

Dr Afgan claimed that they had left the task of nominations entirely upon elected councillors and nazims of district’s union councils to elect district and tehsil nazims with their own free will.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi once again declared Humair Hayat Khan Rokhri as the PML-backed candidate for the Mianwali district nazim slot.

Pervaiz Elahi reiterated his stance at a meeting held here on Sunday at the Chief Minister’s House after a meeting with PMl president Ch Shujaat and information minister Sh Rashid.

Provincial Revenue Minister Gul Hameed Khan Rokhri, father of Humair, also addressed a press conference in Mianwali and refuted Afgan’s claim that the president and prime minister had cancelled his son’s nomination.

The minister said the PML had nominated Humair Hayat Rokhri the candidate for the Mianwali district nazim which would remain unchanged.

He said Sher Afghan had twice claimed the cancellation of PML’s unanimous decision while Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi had issued statements for the affirmation of his and party’s decision.

Mr Rokhri alleged that the federal minister was misusing the names of the president and the prime minister for his vested interests and was causing a harm to the party unity and cause.

He told reporters that the name of the Mianwali district was not even included in the agenda item of the meeting held in the President’s House on Saturday night.

Dr Sher Afghan, he said, was beguiling naive councillors by issuing false press statements.

The revenue minister claimed that the people in the district had rejected the candidates of the so-called Khidmat Ittehad formed by Dr Sher Afgan.

It may be mentioned that the PML had nominated Humair Hayat Rokhri or the second term keeping in view his past performance. Many PML members, including provincial Mines and Mineral Minister Sibtain Khan, former Piplan tehsil nazim Faqir Abdul Majeed and Isakhel’s Abdul Rehman Khan Babli, have left the Khidmat Ittehad and accepted the high command decision of the PML.

Dr Sher Afgan Khan is making hectic efforts to get his candidate Obaidullah Shadikhel nominated for the district nazim seat by all means.