Defeat of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidates in the first-ever Local Government (LG) polls in Islamabad was largely due to award of party tickets to blue-eyed people instead of deserving and able candidates.
As per details, PML-N could not get the result of LG polls in Islamabad like Rawalpindi and other cities of Punjab as Federal Minister for CAAD Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry awarded party tickets to blue-eyed candidates in LG polls and hid the real notification of LG election committee constituted by PM and occupied its chairmanship.
Dr Tariq has included Sajid Abbasi (ticket holder of MNA), Mehtab, Azmat, Raja Waqar and Tausaf in the committee and awarded tickets with the consultation of members, on which senior party leaders protested.
The real committee for LG polls was headed by Senator Zafar Iqbal Jhagra and former senator Chaudhry Jaffar Iqbal, former senator Zafar Ali Shah, Malik Shujjah, Chaudhry Ashraf Gujjar, MNA Farhana Qamar and Senator Nuzhat Amir were nominated as members of the committee.
Dr Tariq while finding this notification became the head of committee through unfair means.
The ‘fraud’ was disclosed when thousands of PML-N activists along with Syed Zafar Ali Shah, Malik Shujjah and Chaudhry Ashraf Gujjar protested over the defeat in LG polls and PM convened the meeting of self-constituted committee. Zafar Ali and Jaffar Iqbal were also invited to the meeting where they came to know that they were on the committee which had been constituted by the PM to distribute party tickets.
When the affairs got out of control, Dr. Tariq Fazal cancelled this meeting while using his influence through bureaucrats sitting in the PM Secretariat saying that two members of the committee are abroad.
It is a matter of interest that Dr. Tariq and his colleagues have used the name of PM’s Principal Secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad to keep silent the senior party leaders on the issue of awarding the party tickets and said that party tickets for the LG polls were being awarded on the consent of principal secretary to PM.
Online contacted Syed Zafar Ali Shah in this regard, he agreed that Dr. Tariq Fazal and his colleagues mishandled the notification and awarded party tickets to their blue-eyed people which caused defeat of the party in LG polls.
He further said that he has written a letter to PM seeking time to meet him to discuss the matter.
