The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which trumpeted the mantra of fair play and judicious distribution of party tickets for the forthcoming general elections, has left all other political parties far behind in the race of injudicious distribution of tickets. The kith and kin of the PML-N leadership have grabbed a lion’s share in the distribution of party tickets for reserved and general seats.
The Sharif family is leading the race and about 30 percent of tickets have been awarded to close relatives of the family.
The party’s Information Secretary Mushahidullah Khan, who is a senator himself, has managed two party tickets for his daughters for the reserved seats of the National and Sindh assemblies respectively.
Another PML-N leader, Saad Rafique, who always talks about principles and democracy, has reportedly fought hard to gain a handsome share of party tickets for his family. He himself would contest from NA-125, while his younger brother Salman Rafique would contest for a Punjab Assembly seat. Another close relative of Saad has been accommodated on reserved seats for women.
Saad’s wife Ghazala has also served as an MPA on a reserved seat in the previous term, while Salman was adviser to the chief minister on health.
Another Leaguer, Jaffer Iqbal Gujjar, is not far behind Saad Rafiq, as he has also succeeded in winning four tickets for his family.
His son Umer Jafar, daughter Zeb Jafar, son-in-law Faisal Iqbal and niece Maiza Hameed Gujjar have been awarded tickets for the upcoming elections.
PML-N Chairman and Senator Raja Zafarul Haq’s niece was also awarded a ticket.
The new entrant into the party’s fold, Amir Muqam, was rewarded for parting ways with the PML-Q and has been given two tickets, disappointing many aspirants who blame a few influentials in the party for the withdrawal of their names.
Pervaiz Malik is contesting for a National Assembly seat from Lahore and his wife has been selected on a reserved seat for the National Assembly.
Marvi Memon, who is contesting election on the general seat of PS-88 from Thatta, is also on the list of reserved seats
Similarly, PML-N provincial leader Nehal Hashmi’s wife Faryal Rabab Hashmi was never seen in any activity of the party, but her name is in the priority list for women’s reserved seats.
“Despite tall claims of bringing in new faces in the forthcoming elections, the PML-N kept its old tradition alive and only a handful of powerful big guns kept the ideological and loyal party workers at bay by once again winning a lion’s share in award of tickets for their families in the coming elections,” said Nayyar Sultana, a diehard party worker.
“PML-N’s loyal leaders and workers – who stood beside the Sharif brothers in thick and thin and kept fighting the war for the party’s survival when their leadership left them in the lurch by settling themselves in Saudi Arabia –have been given a cold shoulder, and tickets have been awarded on the basis of nepotism, likes and dislikes,” she added.
According to political analysts, the PML-N leadership would have to pay an unprecedented price for such an indifferent attitude towards the loyal and time-tested workers of the party, who were left high and dry in the award of ticket, causing deep cracks within the party.
The political pundits said results of the upcoming elections would be quite surprising, so it was the need of the hour to go to the polls with new faces, as the people were fed up with the old ones.
They said the PML-N should revisit its policy otherwise the election result might be very shocking for it.
The irate party workers were of the view that in nominating candidates for reserved seats, the party leaders had preferred their family members over sincere and active workers, vowing they would stage protests to get their demands accepted.
They alleged that the PNL-N leadership had committed “nepotism” by selecting the “wives and daughters” as candidates for reserved women seats.
Despite repeated attempts, PML-N Information Secretary Mushahidullah Khan did not respond to Pakistan Today’s calls.