MULTAN: After the Pakistan People’s Party south Punjab secretary general Secretary Malik Amir Dogar refused to contest by-election in NA-149 on party ticket, the PPP has nominated Dr Javed Siddiqui as its candidate in the constituency.

The seat was vacated after the resignation of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s sacked president Javed Hashmi.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Dogar alleged the ‘script’ to get Mr Hashmi elected in the upcoming by-poll was written by Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Saad Rafique and Khurshid Shah. He added that according to the script, the PPP candidate would withdraw his nomination papers.

Also read: NA-149 by-poll: bumpy road ahead for renegade Hashmi

Complaining of being ignored by the PPP leadership, he said: “I have become Baghi (rebel). When party’s co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari talks on phone with Hashmi for 30 minutes and party’s chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari praises Hashmi in his tweets, what other option I have been left with,” he said.

When asked if he had left the PPP, Dogar said apparently it would seem so but the truth would be revealed gradually.

He denied having links with the PTI leadership, saying he was not considering joining the party.

Sources, however, said Mr Dogar had been in contact with the PTI’s vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi since long and the connection got strengthened after Mr Hashmi’s resignation.

They said Mr Dogar conveyed a message to PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari during his visit to Multan last week through Musa Gilani that the party should support him as an independent candidate so that he could woo PTI voters.

The sources said Mr Dogar was told by Mr Qureshi that PTI would support him only if he contested election as an independent candidate.

They said Mr Bilawal expressed his displeasure over Dogar’s demand in front of Yousuf Raza Gilani, saying if the party’s general secretary was reluctant to contest under PPP banner, he did not deserve the ticket.

Meanwhile, a PPP delegation comprising Haidar Zaman Gardezi, Nawazish Pirzada and Rizwan Qureshi reached Multan on the direction of party leadership to announce a candidate against Mr dogar.

The sources said Mr Bilawal categorically told Mr Gilani that the party would contest the by-election at all costs, without caring for the result. Mr Gilani assured the party chairman that he would convince Mr Dogar to contest the by-poll as party candidate. However, Mr Dogar refused to contest by-election.

They said after Dogar’s refusal, Mr Gilani asked his close aide Dr Javed Siddiqui to enter the arena.

Dr Siddiqi said he was going to contest the by-election as per the party decision, claiming he was the strongest candidate.

As many as 74 candidates have submitted their nominations papers in the constituency. They have two more days to withdraw their nomination papers.

Shaikh Tariq Rashid, Shaikh Tahir Rashid, Tariq Naeemullah, Dr Khalid Khawani, Aun Abbas Buppi, Ejaz Janjua, Saeed Qureshi and Athar Mumtaz are other prominent independent candidates.

Although the PTI has decided it won’t contest the by-election, some of its members have submitted nomination papers. According to PTI district president Ejaz Janjua, “ We are trying to convince the party leadership to contest the election”.

“A meeting of party high command is going to discuss the issue and we will plead our case to convince it to contest the election,” he said.

He said another reason for submitting the nomination papers was to prevent Mr Hashmi from getting elected unopposed.

He said PTI would not support any independent candidate, including Malik Amir Dogar.

“It is out of question. People have worked hard for PTI for more than a decade. How could party announce its support for a person who is an outsider,” he said.

CLASH: The supporters of Dr Khalid Khakwani of the PTI and Malik Amir Dogar, an independent candidate, had a minor clash when the two leaders arrived at the local ECP office to submit their nomination papers. The clash, however, ended on the intervention of both candidates.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2014