Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor ends 28-year-old affiliation with PML-N

–Disgruntled Ghafoor accuses Sharif brothers of ‘selling’ party tickets to the filthy rich

LAHORE: Disgruntled leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and former minister Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor on Sunday announced to end his 28-year-old association with the party, accusing the Sharif brothers of ‘selling’ party tickets.

“All these actions of the Sharif family are against Pakistan. I cannot afford to remain part of such a party which is against the country,” said charged Ghafoor while addressing a press conference at Lahore Press Club flanked by a large number of his clansmen of Mayo caste.

He said, “(Nawaz Sharif) befriended with enemies of Pakistan…(and) foreign powers are hell-bent upon destroying Pakistan and Nawaz Sharif is doing the same by attacking the institutions,” he said,  adding: “The PML-N government during its tenure brought changes in Elections Act 2017 and tried to omit a Khatm-e-Nabuwwat oath from lawmakers.”

Ghafoor seconded the words of fellow disgruntled PML-N leader Zaeem Hussain Qadri and said, “Shehbaz Sharif! Lahore is not the land of your father. The same is the case with Pakistan. Pakistan does not belong to the Sharif brothers rather it belongs to all of us.”

Apparently perturbed over the issue of party tickets for contesting 2018 general elections, he said he had no greed for the candidature and said he did not submit nomination papers from any constituency.  However, he himself admitted that he had asked the parliamentary board for the ticket.

He lambasted the party leadership for awarding tickets to the corrupt, land mafia and all those who run illegal businesses. “What is the criterion for awarding tickets. It is money, land grabbing?” he questioned. He alleged that the party tickets were sold to the filthy rich for the sake of money and claimed that he had raised the issue in the party meetings as well.

He criticised the former chief minister Shehbaz Sharif for promoting junior officers and sidelining the senior ones.

He “declared war on Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif” and said, “From tomorrow, I will visit every constituency and campaign against the Sharif brothers. I will start from the constituency of Shehbaz Sharif and later will visit the constituency of his son Hamza Shehbaz.”

He held that the controlled democracy is being practiced in Pakistan which, according to him, is poorer than dictatorship.

Without naming Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz, he lambasted her and criticised her role of attacking the security forces and undermining their integrity.

To a question why he enjoyed perks under the corrupt rule of the Sharifs, he said he remained the managing director of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) but did not get any salary or any other benefit.

Reacting to another query, he said he was not retiring from the politics. he also denied joining any other party for the moment.