ISLAMABAD Jan 7: Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Salim Saifullah Khan returned unopposed as president and secretary-general of Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam) respectively, party sources said.

Mian Azhar vacated the president’s office after his resignation on Dec 26 under a deal with the party leadership after President Gen Pervez Musharraf intervened to get the party general council, convened for Dec 20, postponed, and the outgoing president was saved from a humiliating exit.

Similarly, the secretary-general’s office was vacated by Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali on the latter’s assuming the office of prime minister, who appointed Saifullah as acting secretary- general in his place.

The unopposed win of Chaudhry Shujaat and Salim Saifullah Khan had thus become a forgone conclusion even at the time of convening of general council last month as no other candidate had emerged against them.

It will be the first time in the political history of the country when the ruling party will be led by a someone other then the prime minister or the president.

The party had made it binding on all those elevated to any public office to resign from the party office. Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gilani, the chief election commissioner of the party, told Dawn that only two nomination papers were received until the deadline of 5pm (extended from 12 noon) on Tuesday which was presumed that both the candidates had technically returned unopposed.

He, however, said that the scrutiny of papers would be done on Wednesday before announcing the final list.

He said the general council would meet on Jan 11 according to plan, but now it would confirm the unopposed election of Chaudhry Shujaat and Salim Saifullah but filling up other vacant offices would be done in another general council meeting.