PPP can make electoral alliance with any party
I respect Nawabzada Ghazanfar Gull a lot because he was the senior leader of PPP but his elder brother is a serving MNA of PML-N, while his nephew got elected as MPA on the ticket of PML-N in 2013. Nawabzada sahib had made his mind to leave the party long ago and it was just his formal announcement that he made the other day of leaving the PPP
As part of restructuring the party, Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari announced the office bearers for central Punjab last year in November and a relatively young Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar was made information secretary from central Punjab. Hailing from Islamabad, Khokhar has his personal vote bank in his constituency as he managed to get around 45,000 votes during the general elections of 2013 from NA-49 at a time when his party was completely routed from Punjab and the federal capital. He belongs to an influential family of the Potohar region and his father, Haji Muhammad Nawaz Khokhar, has also served as deputy speaker of the National Assembly. Mustafa Nawaz was made an advisor to the prime minister on human rights during the last PPP government.
Since getting the office of Information Secretary of PPP central Punjab, Khokhar started playing a vibrant role for his party as he regularly appears on the TV talk shows giving the opinion of his party on different issues in a very effective manner. Mustafa Khokhar also played an important role in organising the PPP’s foundation day celebrations in Lahore’s Bilawal house last year and the recent show of power by PPP in Lahore’s Nasir Bagh against the load shedding.
Being the information secretary of Punjab carries huge responsibility as there are 25 districts in this region and PPP failed to win even a single seat from this whole area in last elections. The rumors circulating in different quarters do not sound good for PPP as party’s old stalwarts like Nazar Muhammad Gondal from Mandi Bahaudin and Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan from Sialkot are weighing the options of joining other parties, while another veteran politician and party’s old guard from Gujrat Nawabzada Ghazanfar Gull announced to leave the party a couple of days ago.
DNA talked exclusively with him about the future plans of his party in Punjab its chances of revival and survival.
Question: Are you satisfied with PPP’s public show in Lahore’s Nasir Bagh? What was the response from your workers? And what will be your future plans in Punjab?
Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar: Our leadership came in Punjab after a gap of nearly two decades and we received an overwhelming response from the workers during our protest camp in Nasir Bagh. Our chairman, Bilawal Bhutto, is the ray of hope for millions of youth of the country and therefore he preferred to select relatively young leadership for Punjab. We have a very rigorous plan for Ramzan as Bilawal will hold Iftar parties in the honour of PPP’s workers during the month in Lahore, Islamabad and Multan by spending four days each in these cities.
It will help him a lot to interact with the old workers of the party. After Ramzan, we are planning to hold protest camps against load shedding in front of those power projects that were installed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) but they are not producing any electricity despite tall claims.
Q: Several leaders of PPP including Raja Riaz, Ashraf Sohna, Syed Samsam Bukhari and Noor Alam Khan have joined PTI in the recent past. Party’s old stalwart Nawabzada Ghazanfar Gull has also left while Nazar Gondal and Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan are also mulling joining PTI. Why does PPP not try to win back these leaders who were once diehard workers of the party?
MNK: I respect Nawabzada Ghazanfar Gull a lot because he was the senior leader of PPP but his elder brother is a serving MNA of PML-N, while his nephew got elected as MPA on the ticket of PML-N in 2013. Nawabzada sahib had made his mind to leave the party long ago and it was just his formal announcement that he made the other day of leaving the PPP.
We cannot force anyone to remain in the PPP against his wish or consent as every individual is free to take his decision independently. But let me say one thing that it really hurts when stalwarts leave the party in such a manner.
Q: PPP announced its Lahore leadership this month and Aziz-ur-Rehman Chann was made the president of Lahore chapter. A verbal brawl erupted between different leaders and workers in the maiden meeting of the new president of Lahore. Most of the workers also raised questions over the new body of Lahore. Do you think that the selection of Chann as Lahore’s president was a good option keeping in view the friction in the rank and file of the party?
MNK: All decisions regarding forming the new leadership in Punjab were taken by Bilawal Bhutto himself. The coordination committee of the Punjab had proposed eight people with strong credentials to become the PPP’s Lahore president and Chann was one of them. Bilawal selected him after consultations with party workers and he will definitely work tirelessly to revive the past glory of the party in Lahore.
Q: What will be the policy of electoral alliance of PPP with other political parties before the next elections? Are you willing to make any electoral alliance with any party?
MNK: Former Chief Minister Punjab and party’s former president of the province, Mian Manzoor Wattoo, has been given task by the party’s chairman to make contact with other political parties in order to make political alliances before the upcoming elections.
PPP will make both seat-to-seat adjustment and political alliances with the parties depending upon the nature of the constituency in the upcoming elections. There is a dire need to make a grand opposition alliance to force the PML-N out of the political arena.
Q: Imran Khan criticises PPP’s leadership quite often. Can PPP go for an electoral alliance with PTI in this scenario?
MNK: We believe that the doors of negotiations must remain open even in the worst scenario for the greater cause. We can make electoral alliance with any political party including Imran Khan’s PTI. However, there is only so far one party can bend to accommodate the other. So, things will become clear as the election draws near and the campaigning intensifies.
