ATTOCK, Dec 13: The former minister of state and PML-Q candidate for NA-57 Attock-1, Malik Amin Aslam, has resigned from the party and returned his ticket in protest against the ‘hypocritical attitude’ of party high command in pitching Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain’s niece Eman Waseem as a contestant on the same seat. Not only that she is the party boss’s niece, she is also the daughter of Maj (retd) Tahir Sadik, Attock district Nazim.

Mr Aslam announced his decision at an emergency press conference with his father, Malik Aslam, former Punjab minister, sitting by his side.

The minister had brought the matter of Ms Eman’s nomination to the notice of party high command to decide that on merit and he had been assured that it would be settled but the dispute was allowed to drag on confirming her nomination against a ticket holder of the party.

Mr Aslam told newsmen it was totally unethical. He said that PML-Q was no more a political party but had turned into a family mafia. It had no place for serious political persons in its setup. He had therefore decided to contest the elections as an independent candidate.

A meeting of his group leaders and workers would be held on Friday to decide the future strategy in the light of this development and hoped his constituents would reject the unprincipled nepotism of the Q League and demonstrate their support for him on the polling day.

The minister had won the NA-57 seat as a candidate of Q in the 2002 elections by securing 39,735 votes against Sheikh Suleman of PML-N who polled 23,866 votes.

The crisis surfaced when Ms Eman who was MNA from her native constituency of NA-59 Attock-III withdrew her nomination for that seat in favour of her husband, Chaudhry Waseem Gulzar, who is a new entrant in this family occupation, and filed her candidature for NA-57 where Amin Aslam was already the party candidate.

The party leadership was informed and asked to settle the issue within the party as it would be a political setback if the party vote was divided. It could also affect the party position in other constituencies of the district.

However, when the issue was allowed to drag on and no step was taken towards its solution Ms Aslam sought the intervention of the party boss at a meeting last Monday at the PML House in Islamabad. Mr Aslam told him he would return the party ticket if Ms Eman did not withdraw. The party high command kept silent and made no move to solve the issue.

Ms Eman’s group led by her father Maj (Retd) Tahir Sadik (district nazim) remained firm on their decision to fight against Ms Aslam who had opposed Maj Sadiq in his second bid for the district nazim post in the last local bodies elections and had formed a separate ‘Ehtasab group’ with the support of Malik Allah Yar Khan (then Chairman Public Accounts Committee).

But at that time the dispute had been resolved between the Ehtesab and the Khattar groups though the cold war between them had continued. It had now come into the open as this time it was Amin Aslam’s turn to face the feudal orchestra in his bid for of NA-57.