PESHAWAR: After a strong group quit Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid in Mansehra district on Monday, there are many from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain-led party, who are planning to jump ship, it is learnt.

According to insiders, the basic reason of the PML-Q’s weakening position in the province is stated to be indifferent attitude of the central leadership, especially Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and cousin Chaudhry Pervez Ilahi, towards party affairs, as it hardly ever visited the province for re-organising the party and resolving the workers’ problems.

The insiders said the other reason for the current PML-Q crisis was the recent intra-party elections for which the aspiring candidates were not properly informed.

“The re-election of the same faces on the seats shocked us because they have already failed to strengthen the party, which will be unable to win seats in the next general elections even from Hazara division,” a leader said.

PML-Q had received a serious blow in April 2012 when former federal minister Amir Muqam joined PML-N because many of the provincial leaders, sitting and former members of assemblies, had accompanied him on the occasion.

But even then, the central leadership believed the party had a strong position in Hazara division and that was why it appointed Syed Qasim Shah of Mansehra the provincial president at least to retain the party’s vote bank in the area.

The provincial president made some extensive visits to parts of the province and tried to activate the dormant workers and assigned duties to many of them but on the other hand PML-N also continued its hunt and picked the activists.

In the last general elections, PML-Q had won four national assembly seats and five of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly but at present it has only one MNA from Chitral and only two MPAs- Qalandar Lodhi from Abbottabad and Ghulam Mohammad from Chitral.Of the MNAs, Mr Muqam and Sardar Shah Jahan joined PML-N, Humayun Saifullah Khan Pakistan People’s Party. Similarly, MPA Rashad Khan of Shangla, Sanaullah Khan Miankhel of Dera Ismail Khan and Wajihuzzaman Khan of Oggi also joined PML-N, while a female MPA Nighat Orakzai (on reserve seat) joined PPP. MPA Fazalullah Pir Mohammad had won his seat from Shangla as independent candidate, who had joined PML-Q but now he is also in PML-N. PML-Q’s Peshawar district president Zakaullah has also recently joined PML-N.

Though, MNA Prince Mohyuddin of Chitral could not be contacted on telephone but he is also stated to have developed differences with the party leadership and there is a greater likelihood that he would join All Pakistan Muslim League led by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.

Recently, former nazim of Mansehra district Sardar Mohammad Yousuf and his son Sardar Shah Jahan sitting state minister caused another damage to PML-Q in Hazara division. Mr Yousuf represents Gujar community who also actively led the people of Hazara Division for formation of a separate province. Now only time will prove but he claims to have a strong group and they would formally join PML-N very soon.

When contacted, Mazhar Ali Qasim, former MPA and son of Syed Qasim Shah, avoided commenting on the situation.

However, PML-Q provincial General Secretary Intikhab Chamkani told Dawn that the allegations about intra-party elections were false. He claimed that schedule had been announced on Feb 20 and Feb 22 was the last date for submission of nomination papers.“We have a provincial council of 425 people and some 380 people were present on eve of the elections but none of them filed papers against the provincial president and general secretary. That is why we retained the seats,” he claimed.

About PML-Q targets in the elections, he said it would win 20-25 provincial assembly seats and 8-10 national assembly seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He said many leaders of other political parties had joined his party and noted among them were former PML-N leader Rahim Bacha from Mardan, PTI’s Daud Khan from Swat, Mohammad Hussain of ANP from Swat, Gohar Zaman of PTI from Nowshera and Dr Shaukat of ANP from Peshawar.

He said these newcomers were candidates of the party in the next elections.

“There are many, who have promised to join us soon, but I cannot disclose their names, now,” he said.

Mr Chamkani said PML-Q opened utility stores and gave jobs to the people in the province and set up two colleges in Peshawar, so it would show a good performance in the province during the next elections.