RAWALPINDI: Local leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have apparently shunned their differences after the party announced to give ticket to Chaudhry Tanveer for Senate elections.

They fear that if they remain divided, the new senator would start calling the shots in managing political and administrative affairs in the district.

The ruling party in the district stood divided in three groups, each led by Sardar Naseem, Hanif Abbasi and Chaudhry Tanveer.

The three groups have been at loggerheads to get attention of the government despite failing to reach the assemblies.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan patronised the Sardar Naseem group but had differences with Hanif Abbasi, who is supported by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. Chaudhry Tanveer is close to Kalsoom Nawaz.

In 1999, when Nawaz Sharif was in jail, Chaudhry Tanveer arranged public meetings for Kalsoom Nawaz. Chaudhry Tanveer had to go to jail during the era of Pervez Musharraf. After this, he remained in the good books of Nawaz Sharif.

In the 2008 elections, Chaudhry Tanveer was not given ticket as he did not meet the minimum qualification of graduation for contesting the elections.

However, he managed to get the provincial PP-13 seat for his nephew Malik Yasir Raza who was later disqualified for holding fake educational certificates.

Then, the party gave the ticket to Yasir Raza’s father and Chaudhry Tanveer’s brother-in-law Malik Ghulam Raza who remained the MPA from 2010 to 2013.

In the 2013 elections, Chaudhry Tanveer wanted the party ticket for NA-52 but Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan managed to get it for himself. Chaudhry Nisar even managed to win the PP-6 seat as an independent candidate and later vacated it. In the by-elections in 2013, the PML-N gave the ticket to Chaudhry Sarfraz Afzal.

The Hanif Abbasi group also had differences with Chaudhry Tanveer as in the 2013 elections Mr Abbasi opposed the allotment of party ticket to Malik Ghulam Raza.

In the 2013 elections, Malik Ghulam Raza and Hanif Abbasi did not attend public meetings together and even criticised each other.

“Both leaders did not support each other and, as a result, PTI chairman Imran Khan won NA-56 while PP-13 was grabbed by PTI’s Arif Abbasi,” said a senior PML-N leader.

He said Hanif Abbasi was also interested in getting Senate ticket but Chaudhry Nisar wanted to bring in a non-political personality.

But after the announcement of the ticket to Chaudhry Tanveer by the PML-N leadership, Chaudhry Nisar-patronised Sardar Naseem group and Hanif Abbasi started removing differences among local leaders against Chaudhry Tanveer.

“For the first time, Hanif Abbasi attended a public meeting of Chaudhry Nisar on February 14 in Rawalpindi. After five years, Sardar Naseem, former MNA Malik Shakil Awan and others gathered at one place and spent two hours to wait for the interior minister in a lighter mood,” he said.

The PML-N leader said during the sit-ins of the PTI and PAT, Hanif Abbasi arranged separate functions where Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed were invited. However, Hanif Abbasi never invited Sardar Naseem and Malik Shakil Awan to the functions.

He said the Punjab government had formed a committee for the implementation and monitoring of the metro bus project with Hanif Abbasi as its chairman. Malik Shakil Awan and Sardar Naseem, who were members of the committee, did not attend the meetings. He said both groups did not attend the meetings of the Rawalpindi Waste Management Committee board of directors in each other’s presence.

Another senior PML-N leader said after getting elected as a senator, Chaudhry Tanveer would take the affairs of the district in his hands and all non-elected leaders would lose government’s attention.

“The local bureaucracy already believed in the divide and rule formula and runs the affairs of the area,” he said

When contacted, Malik Shakil Awan said Hanif Abbasi’s participation in Chaudhry Nisar’s function was a welcome sign. “We belong to one party and want to serve the people,” he said.

Published in Dawn February 16th , 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play