LAHORE, Pakistan: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has awarded tickets to nine Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) defectors for national assembly seats in the upcoming general elections, depriving the aggrieved diehard party workers of their due rights.
With the approval of its supremo Nawaz Sharif, PML-N has awarded to the following politicians who reached the Parliament in 2018 as PTI’s Candidates but later they betrayed the besieged party in early 2022;
- Raja Riaz in NA-104 Faisalabad
- Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon in NA-153 Multan
- Syed Mobeen Ahmed NA-169 Rahim Yaar Khan
- Syed Basit Ahmed Sultan Bokhari in NA-176 Muzaffargarh
- Ahmed Talal Gopang in NA-178 Muzaffargarh
- Makhdoom Syed Sami Ul Hassan Gillani in NA-166 Bahawalpur
- Sardar Riaz Khan Mazari in NA-189 Rajanpur
- Muhammad Abdul Ghaffar Watto in NA-160 Bahawalnagar
Sources said that though not officially announced yet, but Nawaz Sharif has also accorded his approval to award PML-N’s ticket to Nawab Sher Waseer from NA-96 Faisalabad.
The awarding of tickets to PTI defectors and neglecting the party’s own potential candidates by PML-N have aggrieved the party’s loyalists and untiring workers who have stood by the party through thick and thin.
Even PML-N’s Daniyal Aziz, who was disqualified by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in a Contempt of Court Case and eventually was barred from contesting in the 2018 general elections, has now announced to contest the elections from Narowal’s NA-75 constituency as an independent candidate after the party did not issue a ticket to him. Chaudhry Anwarul Haq will run in the February 8 polls from NA-75 on PML-N’s ticket.
Watching #Daniyal Aziz narrate on ARY reasons for his pol falling out with a party he has been associated since 2013.. PML Parliamentary Cttee awarded him the seat but by all accounts party SecyGen AhsanIqbal encroached on Danyal’s constituency. Party leadership stood with…
— Nasim Zehra (@NasimZehra) January 11, 2024
Not only, PML-N has fielded PTI’s turncoats for the February 8 polls, it has also left seven national assembly seats vacant for seat adjustment with Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) – again whose sizeable number of election candidates including its Patron-in-Chief Jahangir Khan Tareen and President Aleem Khan were once closely associated with PTI.
PML-N hasn’t fielded any candidate in NA-149 Multan from wherein Jahangir Khan Tareen will contest the upcoming elections.
Similarly, IPP’s Nauman Langrial in NA-143 Chichawatani, Engineer Gul Asghar in NA-88 Khushab, Aamir Kayani in NA-47 Islamabad, and Ghulam Sarwar Khan in NA-54 Taxila are likely to be the joint candidates of both IPP and PML-N in the general elections.
In NA-54 Taxila, the PML-N local leadership has rejected the seat adjustment with the IPP’s candidate Ghulam Sarwar Khan and formed a forward group comprising the Vice Chairman of Taxila and Wah Cantonment boards and their elected members.
In a Joint Press Conference on Wednesday, they lamented the PML-N’s decision of neglecting Barrister Aqeel Malik, and urged the party’s leadership not to go into any electoral alliance with Ghulam Sarwar Khan as it would dent party vote bank in elections.
It’s worth noting that even PML-N hasn’t honored and given little weight to the commitment of its long-time workers by nominating former PTI’s lawmakers Wajeeha Qamar and Uzma Kardar for reserved women’s seats.
