The race is on among the PML-N loyalists to get governor’s slot in Punjab and elsewhere as the party top leadership is all set to fill the positions soon.
Those in the race for Punjab governor’s slot include, Rafique Rajwana, Jaffar Iqbal, Zafar Iqbal, Saeed Mehdi and Dr Al Qama.
Rajwana is ahead in the race. He is a party loyalist and if the Sharifs want to follow in the footsteps of President Asif Zardari he is also from southern Punjab. He is a Multan-based lawyer and is a senate for the second time.
Jaffar Iqbal is also very close to the Sharifs. Being an old guard in the party his chances are not less than anybody else. He too hails from southern Punjab.
Saeed Mehdi, a former bureaucrat, is also in the queue for the coveted office. His first love was something to the effect of adviser to the Establishment Division. But with the placement of Nasir Khosa as Principal Secretary to PM, his chances to realise his dream are minimal.
Mehdi has a long association with the PML-N. But so far he is not considered for any important slot. Being a grief-stricken he talking aloud about the injustice meted out to him.
Mehdi was the one who faced the cases under former president Pervez Musharraf. Even his family was singled out for his association with the Sharifs. He is also considered for the office of the Evacuee Trust Property Board chairman, the position vacated by PPP’s Asif Hashmi.
But the most upset among the PML-N top lot is none other than Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa. Probably, his dreams of staging a comeback to the historic building seems to be unrealisable right now save any miracle. Probably, his family’s hobnob with the PPP in the dying days of the PPP government cost him dearly.
Meanwhile as the race is on if not marathon, nobody is for sure what is going on in Nawaz Sharif’s mind, the final authority in this respect.
