Discord within the PML-Q ranks over the power-sharing deal with the ruling PPP is widening, as the party’s Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Sayed is “unhappy” over the power-sharing formula, while Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain looks helpless in the face of party leaders’ accusations that the deal was struck just to rescue Moonis Elahi.
Background interviews and interaction with PML-Q leaders revealed that the deal was finalised by Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in isolation and even Mushahid had not been told the details. “The deal is based on one point – the rescue of Moonis Elahi. You can only assess the situation by the fact that Elahi ignored all recommendations made by Mushahid Hussain while assigning ministerial slots. Moreover, the rival group of Amir Muqam, who is the party’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president, was given a ministerial slot and an adviser’s office, while no nominee of Mushahid or Muqam was accommodated,” sources said.
They said Mushahid even telephoned Shujaat from China to demand advisers’ slot for Imtiaz Ranjha and Halim Adil Shaikh, who look after the party’s federal and Sindh secretariats respectively, however, none was accommodated. “Rather cronies of Pervaiz Elahi – Raja Basharat, Syed Qasim Shah and Ahmed Yar Heraj – were appointed advisers, without them having made any sacrifices for the party,” they added.
Moreover, Sardar Shahjahan Yusuf, son of another of Elahi’s friends, was appointed a minister of state,” the source added. Another fuming party leader is the party’s Balochistan President Jam Muhammed Yousaf. “Mushahid and Shujaat had decided that all the provincial presidents of the party would be made federal ministers, but in violation of the decision, the name of Jam Yousaf was dropped from the final list which sent a very negative message,” the source added.
Another PML-Q leader told Pakistan Today that Shujaat looked helpless, as Elahi was running the party’s affairs just like under Musharraf’s regime. The source said after losing support from Jam Yousaf, the party was heading towards another disaster as Amir Muqam had also resigned from the cabinet. “Shujaat had a one-on-one meeting with Muqam on Sunday night and assured him of addressing his grievances. However, Muqam urged Shujaat to take the party decisions on his own and stop Elahi from harming the party,” the source said.
Another party leader said Muqam wanted the Ministry of Water and Power as he had served as the state minister for water and power under Musharraf’s era. The source said Muqam thought he knew the ministry well and he could deliver on the issue of load shedding, and this service would be extremely beneficial in the next elections.
