GUJRAT: The workers’ convention of the PML-N Gujrat chapter has exposed rift in the party as some former lawmakers, ticket holders and the old guard did not attend the event at Ajnala on Wednesday.

PML-N Secretary-General Ahsan Iqbal, Additional Secretary-General Ataullah Tarrar, also an adviser to the prime minister, and MNA Abid Kotla attended the convention organised by the Gujrat chapter at the place of PML-N district president Tahirul Mulk. The convention was held in the area of NA-68 and PP-28 but neither the party’s ticket holders in the last general election (2018) from both these seats, including Nawabzada Ghazanfar Ali Gull, a former MNA, and Nawabzada Haider Mehdi, a former MPA, nor Nawabzada Mazhar Ali Khan, the party’s former MNA (2013-18) who is the head of the Nawabzada family, attended the event.

Moreover, the group of party’s diehard workers from Gujrat city, led by Haji Nasir Mehmood, a former mayor of Gujrat Municipal Corporation, and ex-MPA Haji Imran Zafar was conspicuous by absence. Another former minister of state, Jaafar Iqbal Fatta Bhand (ex-MNA), from Lalamusa, was also absent from the party event.

Sources said the absence of key party figures was felt by senior leaders. Ahsan Iqbal asked a party lawmaker to address the issues relating to the internal differences, they said. They said Haji Nasir group was annoyed with the district and divisional leadership for not consulting the former mayor in the matters relating to the local party affairs, especially the convention.

GUJRAT: The workers’ convention of the PML-N Gujrat chapter has exposed rift in the party as some former

Ghazanfar Gull told Dawn that neither he nor Nawabzada family head Mazhar Ali Khan was invited to the event. PML-N Gujrat president Tahirul Mulk is a maternal nephew of Mr Gull.

Ex-MPA Imran Zafar also said he had not received any invitation and was out of station on Wednesday. It is learnt that ex-MPA Nawabzada Haider Mehdi, a party ticket holder from PP-28 in 2018, also was out of station.

The local party workers have expressed their grave concern over the differences among the senior leaders and called upon the high command to take notice of solo flight by some party officials.

Addressing the workers’ convention, Ahsan Iqbal said the federal government had already requested the chief justice of Pakistan to conduct the judicial inquiry into attack on Imran Khan but it was deplorable that Mr Khan was targeting the institutions for political gains. Attaullah Tarrar criticised the Punjab government for “plundering public money in the name of uplift schemes worth billions of rupees.” He demanded that Chief Minister Parvez Elahi should resign due to his government’s failure to ensure security of the PTI long march in Wazirabad.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2022