SAHIWAL, March 14: All MPAs-elect on the PML-Q tickets in Sahiwal have joined a forward bloc in assembly, Dawn has learnt.

Those who ditched the party for the forward bloc are: Jalal Din Dhakoo (PP-222), Pir Walayat Shah Khagga (PP-220), Arshad Jat (PP-225) and Malik Langrial (PP-226). Mr Langrial and Mr Jat are district and tehsil presidents of the PML-Q. Right after elections, all PML-Q leaders, except the Rai Group, from the district contacted the PPP to join the party but the party refused to accept them.Later, they contacted the PML-N, which is likely to form its government in Punjab.

At first, the PML-N accepted only the Rai Group, which is led by Rai Azizullah, who lost election from NA-162, and Rai Hasan Nawaz, district nazim. The inclusion of the Rai Group into the PML-N was made possible because the group, even though a PML-Q part, had never been in the good books of the Chaudhries. They contested elections as independent candidates. Even though, they won the district nazim slot in 2005, it happened due to President Musharraf’s support for the Rais. The Chaudhries, however, wanted Arshad Khan Lodhi, rule the district.Nadeem Kamran, MPA-elect and PML-N district president, confirmed that the Rai Group had joined the PML-N. Now, PML-N leadership gave the MPAs-elect to join the forward block so that they were not disqualified for ditching their party.

With the joining of the four MPAs-elect the forward bloc, the only leader left with the PML-Q is Arshad Lodhi. Only time will tell if he stands by the Chaudhries who have been supporting him for the last seven years—Shafiq Butt