PESHAWAR: The PML-N, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has decided that it will not become part of any electoral alliance in the coming local government (LG) elections and asked its district level units to start preparations for the elections.

The decision was announced by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz provincial president Pir Sabir Shah while speaking at the first big meeting of the party at its provincial secretariat here on Saturday.

It was attended by most of the district and provincial level office-bearers of the party. Central general secretary Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, provincial general secretary Rehmat Salam Khattak and Nasir Khan Musazai also spoke on the occasion. However, several senior leaders skipped the meeting.

The presidents and other top office-bearers from different districts counting complaints against their party-led federal government said that the central leadership had ignored them and they were unable to seek votes any longer for the party unless sufficient funds were allocated for each districts.

“We are ready even to tender collective resignations from our official responsibilities because none of us can face the voters.

We are unable to launch a campaign for seeking votes any longer as the federal ministers are not paying attention towards us and even avoid meeting us during their visits to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” the participants said in their closed door meeting.

A source privy to the meeting said that most of the speakers talked about the excessive power loadshedding and lack of jobs and development funds, and asked the provincial leader to consider their demands seriously otherwise they would part ways with the party collectively.

The participants came down hard on the central government for what they said neglecting the PML-N workers of KP province.

They said that people complained against the prolonged power suspensions and described it as a biased treatment of the minister for water and power with them.

They also mentioned the increasing groupings in the party and its organisations and held the central leadership responsible for the situation.

In response, the provincial president Sabir Shah, Mr Jhagra and Mr Khattak said that the leadership would give due attention to the workers and solve their problems.

They said that PML-N was the second largest party in the province as it had obtained 0.9 million votes in last general elections.

They said that the party would not become part of any electoral alliance at the provincial level and all the district level units were allowed to form committees and decide seat adjustments at local levels.

The leaders said that efforts would be made to reactivate all the disgruntled workers and remove the grievances among them.

Later, the provincial president claimed at a press conference that the federal government was functioning successfully and the nation was satisfied with its nine-month performance concerning the ruler of law, restoration of peace and strengthening of democracy in the country.

He said that the KP PML-N had seconded the peace process initiated by the federal government.

Mr Jhagra said that the party president wanted to meet all the workers, but he remained very busy due to some core issues being faced by the country. He asked the workers to step up their efforts for strengthening the party so that it could form next government in the province.