OKARA, July 26: The Shah Muqeem group, which enjoys political strength in Okara, got a further boost when former Okara tehsil nazim Chaudhry Nadeem Abbas Rubera and MPA Chaudhry Iftikhar Husain Chachar, the two old allies of Mian Manzoor Wattoo’s Taamir-i-Watan group, joined it.
Shah Muqeem group head Syed Afzaal Ali Shah Gillani, a former provincial minister, is the candidate for district nazim’s slot. He enjoys support of, besides his son Syed Raza Ali Gillani, a provincial minister, MNAs Rao Muhammad Ajmal Khan and Syed Gulzar Subtain and MPAs — Mian Muhammad Asghar Jeewayka, Chaudhry Javed Allauddin, Deewan Ikhlaq Ahmad, Malik Nazar Farid Khokhar, Rao Farooq Omar Kharal and Chaudhry Iftikhar Husain Chachar.
Recently, Advocate Mrs Anjum Khalid, an MPA from Deeplapur, ditched the Taamir-i-Watan group and joined Mr Gillani’s.
Also backing the group are former MPAs Malik Muhammad Abbas Khokhar and Malik Muhammad Akram Bhatti, and former Renala Khurd tehsil nazim Chaudhry Waheeduddin. The group enjoys support in all three tehsils of Okara.
Chaudhry Nadeem Rubera, Malik Muhammad Abbas Khokhar and Chaudhry Waheeduddin are in the run for the slots of nazims of Okara, Deepalpur and Renala Khurd, respectively.
Hardly a week ago, Advocate Mian Muhammad Moeen Khan Wattoo, a former chairman of district council and younger brother of the late Mian Muhammad Yasin Khan Wattoo, of the Gillani group has also emerged as an aspirant for district nazim’s slot.
He is supported by MNA Rao Muhammad Aslam Kharal and MPAs — Deewan Ikhlaq Ahmad and Chaudhry Iftikhar Husain Cahchar. But the real bonus for him is a strong backing by Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. If nominated by the chief minister, he may win support of the Mian Manzoor Wattoo’s group on a biradarism basis.
How serious is Mian Moeen in earning political fame can be judged from the fact that while remaining in the Shah Muqeem group, he has announced his candidates for union council nazim and naib nazim by using the late Yasin Wattoo’s link within the NA-147 constituency from where he had contested election for MNA against Ms Robina Shaheen Wattoo, the daughter of Mian Manzoor Wattoo.
It is learnt that MPA Chaudhry Iftikhar Chachar has joined the Shah Muqeem group on the assurance of Pervaiz Elahi that he would be the PML ticket holder in the next general election.
Ex-district nazim Syed Sajjad Haider, a former federal minister, says he will contest election for the top district slot if the PML nominates him. Otherwise, he will be as loyal to the ruling party as he was ever before.
The weakened Tamir-i-Watan group stands little chance of making an impact, especially after defections.
On the other hand, Defence Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal wishes to see his brother Zafar Iqbal Rao as a candidate for the slot, but has a weak group. PML-N District President Mian Muhammad Zaman, a former federal minister, and his MPA son are supporting him. The minister also won support of his old rivals Chaudhry Ikramul Haq and Chaudhry Muhammad Arif, both former MPAs and representatives of Arain cast, due to which he has managed to field his son for union council slot.
As he sees little chance of his younger brother Rao Zafar Iqbal becoming nazim, he is looking for district naib nazim’s office for his son because after changes in the local-body rule the district naib nazim would be elected within the house.
The PPP doesn’t enjoy a strong position in Okara but its leader Rana Ikram Rabbani has shown interest for the nazim’s position, though he is reportedly not enjoying good relations with his colleagues.
MMA District President Dr Liaquat Ali, an energetic politician, is aspiring for the Okara district nazim’s slot. But the fact is that except Jamaat-i-Islami, the other components of the alliance are not in a position to make their presence felt.
In Okara tehsil, four-time MPA Rai Noor Muhammad Kharal is in the run for tehsil nazim’s office as PML-N’s Mian Muhammad Zaman group has assured him of support. Rao Sikandar Iqbal’s cousin Rao Jamil Akhtar, a former tehsil naib nazim, is also a contender for the slot.