CHAKWAL: Former PML-N leader Ayaz Amir has been fielded by the beleaguered PTI as its candidate in Chakwal’s NA-58 constituency, as the former ruling party plans to nominate multiple candidates in each constituency to subvert potential attempts by its detractors to sideline its nominees in the electoral race.

Though the veteran columnist is not officially part of the PTI, its district president Chaudhry Nasir Ali Bhatti told Dawn that the former lawmaker was the party nominee for the NA-58 seat. Mr Bhatti said for NA-59 (Talagang), PTI Central President Parvez Elahi, his wife and son would file nomination papers. Mr Elahi emerged victorious in this constituency in 2018 general elections.

“We fear that our candidates could be disqualified through different tactics in the scrutiny of nomination papers, which is why we have decided to field more than one candidate in every constituency,” Mr Bhatti said.

Chaudhry Ali Nasir Bhatti and Raja Tariq Afzal Kalas are PTI’s primary candidates for PP-20 and PP-21 seats, whereas Advocate Malik Shahid Iqbal, Advocate Chaudhry Taimoor Khan, Advocate Tallat Mehmood and former MPA Ejaz Hussain Farhat will file nomination papers for PP-20. Sardar Aftab Akbar or Pir Nisar Qasim will be PTI’s candidate for PP-22 while Hafiz Ammar Yasir is likely to contest the election from PP-23.

Party decides to field multiple candidates in each constituency

“Under the party’s political strategy, the candidates who are vying for provincial assembly seats will also file nomination papers for the NA seats as covering candidates,” said a leader of the PTI. In Chakwal, several PTI leaders – Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan, Sardar Aftab Akbar, and Raja Yasin Humayun Sarfraz – parted ways with the party in the wake of the May 9 violence and subsequent crackdown.

It may be noted that Mr Amir was assaulted in Lahore by unknown men a few days after he delivered a hard-hitting speech in Islamabad. That speech followed by the assault made him popular among the rank and file of the PTI.

This vacuum provided an opportunity for Ayaz Amir to emerge as PTI’s contender for the coveted NA seat. His residence located in the heart of Chakwal was offering a desolate look a few days ago, but now it has turned into a hub of political activity. With his political campaign in full swing, people from the city as well as remote villages have started visiting Ayaz Amir to express their support. In a corner meeting on Wednesday evening, Ayaz Amir told the audience that he decided to contest the election on Imran Khan’s order, who is in jail. “I received an order from Adiala Jail through someone, asking me to contest the election,” he told the gathering.

“We would file the nomination papers of Ayaz Amir on Thursday (today),” Ayaz Amir’s close aide Advocate Malik Zafran Awan told Dawn.

Mr Amir, also a veteran columnist, comes from a political family. His father was elected an MNA of the Pakistan Peoples Party in 1970. After the death of his father, Ayaz Amir remained with the PPP for some time but later joined Meraj Mohammad Khan’s Qaumi Mahaz-i-Azadi in pursuit of a socialist revolution. In 1997, he managed to get PML-N’s ticket and was elected as an MPA from Chakwal’s PP-18 (now PP-22) constituency. He resigned later on.

In 2002, he contested on PML-N’s platform for a National Assembly seat, but could not clinch the slot. In 2008, he received more votes than any other MNA in Punjab on PML-N’s ticket. In 2013, the PML-N did not field him due to his differences with the party leadership.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2023