Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Amir Muqam had to face an unpleasant situation on Tuesday when party chief Nawaz Sharif barred him from attending his meeting with family members of the missing persons. A party source told APP that Muqam was to accompany Nawaz in the meeting with the missing persons’ families, mostly hailing from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Swat, his home constituency. However, he was barred from attending the meeting at the eleventh hour to avoid any reaction from the affected families.
The source said that when the affected families saw Muqam accompanying Nawaz, they expressed their displeasure, recalling that most of their youth had gone missing during the time when Muqam was a cabinet member of the Musharraf-led government. “How could we expect justice from your party if people like Amir Muqam are its members? Muqam was a minister when our beloved ones went missing, but he did nothing (for their recovery),” the source quoted an annoyed family member of the missing persons as telling a PML-N leader. “The PML-N leader assured the furious family members of the missing persons that Muqam will not be present during their meeting with Nawaz. He also conveyed the feelings of the visitors to Nawaz Sharif who directed Muqam not to attend the meeting,” the source said. The source added that Nawaz also asked some of the party leaders present there to accompany Muqam in another room at Punjab House in order to not let him feel being singled out. The source said that Amir Muqam was unhappy for being sidelined but was later taken into confidence by the party leaders on the sentiments of the affected families. Before joining the PML-N, Amir Muqam was a close associate of former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf.
