If everything goes according to his expectations, former director general of the Intelligence Bureau, Brig (r) Ijaz Shah, would join the National Assembly after the general elections.
A close confidant of General Musharraf, in his heydays, Brig (retd.) Shah, is building momentum among the electorates of his native city of Nankana Sahab, some 75 kilometers from Lahore.
He plans to contest the elections as an independent candidate and claims to have enough public support to defeat his rivals, no matter which party them come from.
Recent reports suggested Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is thinking of awarding the NA ticket to Brig (r) Shah, despite his controversial role in post military coup of October 1999.
“There is no way I am getting the ticket of PML-N. There is no truth in the reports,” Brig (r) Shah told Online.
He explained the local leaders hailing from mainstream political parties have recommended his name to their respective high commands. They wanted him as their NA candidate in order to capitalize on his support base in
Nankana Sahab.
Asked if he would like to get a ticket from Chaudhry Shujaat-led PML-Q, he said People’s Party Punjab President Mian Manzoor Wattoo would not let Chaudhry’s get the seat of Nankana Sahab.
The former director general of IB has good rapport with the Chaudhry’s of Gujrat.
Brig (retd.) Shah was allegedly instrumental in 2002 and 2008 general elections. His critics blamed him of applying anti-democracy tactics to manipulate the elections in favor of General Musharraf.