The constituency comprises 12-and-a-half Lahore union councils (UC) and borders India. A majority of the population is rural. There are a little over 350,000 registered voters.

The Ghurkis, Diyals, Awans, Butts and Dogras are some of the important families that dominate the politics in the area. Allegations are rife of their support for smugglers, drug traffickers, gangsters and land grabbers.

The area has no public hospital, college or sports grounds. Voters mention uninhibited sale of narcotics, adulterated soft drinks and gambling dens as serious law and order problems.

Some villages of the constituency including Wagha, Burki, Hadiara, Thatha Tararan, Qalia Jewan Singh, Thapura, Banochack, Ghurki, Sanakey, Lalo, Diyal and Bhaseen fall along the border (zero line) with India.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has fielded Sohail Shoukat Butt as its candidate, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Inasaf has put forward Talib Sindhu, Samina Khalid Ghurki is the Pakistan People Party’s candidate while the Jamaat-i-Islami has given its ticket to Chaudhry Manzoor Gujjar.

Most of the constituents are engaged in low-wage jobs. Many are mechanics, electricians, skilled or unskilled masons, carpenters and cobblers.

A Bata factory is a major employer. Any labour not employed there heads to the city for work. The rural population mostly works the land.

The majority of the urban union councils consist of working and middle classes and most run small businesses.

Former caretaker prime minister Malik Meraj Khalid (late) and Jamaat-i-Islami’s Qazi Hussain Ahmed had contested polls from the area.

Muhammad Asghar Ghurki (late) became the MNA in 1985 in partyless general elections, Malik Miraj Khalid of PPP was voted in in 1988, Pakistan Muslim League’s Ashiq Diyal won the constituency in 1990, PPP’s Khalid Ghurki in 1993, Ashiq Diyal, running as an independent candidate, took the constituency in 1997 and Samina Khalid Ghurki was elected twice in 2002 and then again in 2008.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had not fielded a candidate here in the last three elections (1997, 2002 and 2008) and even this time its candidate is considered weak. The PPP has been the popular party.

Jutt, Meo, Arain, Gujjar, Butt, Sheikh, Awan and Rajput are the main biradaris here.

After, the PML-N refused its ticket to the Diyals they have allied themselves with the Ghurki family and have a ticket for PP-158. The Ghurkis and Diyals, historically, have never seen eye-to-eye so this alliance is viewewd with some mistrust.

PML-N’s Butt has been defeated in the past by the PPP nominee from the PP-157 seat. Butt’s education qualification is lower than his competitors.

Sindhu, a former PML-Q MPA from PP-157, is not considered a financially strong candidate opposite the ‘big families’.

Voter sympathy for PPP’s Ghurki has dipped. The heavy loadshedding in the area in the past five years seems to be the biggest factor against the two-time winner.

JI’s candidate Gujjar is popular with the rural residents. He has the support of his biradari and has been twice elected as nazim from Lakhodar (union council-42). Holding an engineering degree, the JI candidate is seen as strong.

The NA-130 constituency has two provincial constituencies, PP-157 and PP-158. In PP-157 PML-N had put forward Rana Tajammul, Hammad Sarwar is running on PTI’s ticket, Babar Sohail Butt on PPP’s and JI has fielded Amer Jalil.

Tajammul is the outgoing MPA but his popularity is on the wane as he has not been accessible to the public. Allegations of links with criminals have marred Butt’s candidacy. PTI’s candidate could be the strongest here.

In PP-158, the PML-N candidate is Malik Ghulam Habib, a former PPP MPA from the area.

PTI’s ticket holder Tahir Majid Mayo was elected as a UC nazim and has the support of the Meo Baradari which is a majority in the constituency. PPP’s candidate, Naveed Ashiq Diyal, was a former PML-Q MPA who joined PPP a week back. The JI candidate is Amer Hayat Bajwa.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2013.

The Code of Conduct Violation Monitoring System, developed by the Urban Unit of the Planning and Development Department, employs Android applications to document violations and makes the reports available to town municipal officers concerned and police officers concerned as well as designated authorities at the Urban Unit, Home Department and the ECP. Judicial officers authorised by monitoring teams will report rallies without permission, display or use of arms, use of loudspeakers, wall checking, oversize banners, posters and boards.

The inspector general of police, home secretary and the Urban Unit officials will have online access to the reports submitted by the judicial officers.

Field monitors would use an Android application to report location of the violation and the photographs in real time. The data would appear on a map.

An SMS would be sent to the town municipal officer or police officer concerned to take action against the violation. The TMO and the police officials concerned have been instructed to visit the sites immediately and remove the violation. In case of firing for instance, the candidate would be reported to the area police station. The TMO or the police official would send a confirmation SMS to the monitoring desk on reaching the scene.

The map, available to the IGP, the Home Department and Urban Unit officials, would also show the status of the violation (removed or continuing).

The divisional commissioners and regional police officers will have the rights to view all the reports in their division, district coordination officers and district police officers in their districts and assistant commissioners and tehsil municipal officers in their tehsils. The system is likely to be activated next week.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12^th, 2013.

“The PTI is fielding candidates for each National and provincial assembly constituency as seats-adjustments with any party could not materialise,” said the party’s general secretary Pervaiz Khattak. He ruled out electoral alliance with any party, saying that the PTI has strong candidates in each constituency.

“PTI’s Central Parliamentary Board vetted all candidates three to four times before picking out the most suitable ones,” Khattak said. He added that long discussions were held in order to rule out favouritism and cronyism. “Now, there will be no change in candidates,” he said.

PTI’s top leadership intends to tour all constituencies to mobilise and motivate voters in favour of their candidates. The party has also set up a ‘Naya Pakistan Fund’ to collect funds for the election campaigns of its young candidates, Khattak said.

“The PTI believes in change and will contest the elections on the basis of its ideology,” he added. “Over 25 per cent of tickets have been awarded to the youth.”

Regarding the complaints of ignored candidates in award of tickets, Khattak said all complaints were reviewed by the board and after a process of serious debate, only the most suitable candidates were picked according to the party’s policy. “Review petitions were in their hundreds but the decision was taken on merit,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 10^th, 2013. 

Addressing the Tabdili Razakar Convention at Alhamra on Friday to motivate the youth to carry his message of change across the country before general elections, he said the volunteers would go door-to-door to inform voters about the PTI manifesto. He said the volunteers would also highlight the poor record of the rival parties’ candidates. He said 10 volunteers would be deployed at each polling station. The party manifesto would be announced next week.

He said if voted to power, the PTI would introduce merit and hold the corrupt accountable. He said a tough match would be played on the polling day. He said two parties representing the traditional politics were trying to foll the people to continue to rule the country. But this time the youth had decided to bring a change. Nobody and nothing could sway the youth, not even the laptops, he said. The days of corrupt politicians were numbered and the ‘tsunami’ would sweep them away, he said.

Khan criticised Sharifs for keeping 1,260 police guards. People, he said, were dying from hunger while the rulers were taking hefty loans to lead luxurious lives. He said politicians, who had been taking turns to govern the country, had sold the sovereignty of the nation.

He said the coming five weeks were very important and the volunteers should work as frontline soldiers to bring about a change in Pakistan. He said the next election was a war between passion and money. He was sure that passion would prevail.

“I promised 25 per cent tickets for the youth, but in the end 35 to 40 per cent PTI tickets have gone to the youth. The PTI preferred the leaders of future to dirty old politicians. The face of the PTI would become visible after the announcement of the final lists of ticket-holders. He said many ‘electables’ had been refused PTI tickets. The final list would be announced on April 8,” Khan said.

The PTI government would not take foreign loans, it would run the economy honourably on indigenous resources, Khan said.

He said the PTI volunteers would be trained in how to motivate the voters and stop rigging. He said 200,000 volunteers had been enrolled so far and within one week the figure would reach one million.

Earlier, Andalib Abbas highlighted the job of volunteers and a video was played to inform them about their duties. Two bands played party songs.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2013. 

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) candidates from Lahore returned their tickets in protest against the “unjust allotment” of tickets by the party’s central parliamentary board, Express News reported on Thursday.

The candidates who returned the tickets included PTI Lahore chapter president Abdul Aleem Khan and Jamshed Iqbal Cheema.

Aleem Khan was awarded the NA-124 and PP-127 tickets which he returned.

The candidates claimed that they had received tickets for themselves but most of the other party members recommended to the central parliamentary committee were ignored.

They have also announced they will not contest the elections from the PTI.

Gulberg Town President Naveed Chauhan and Aziz Bhatti Town President Haji Sadiq have submitted their written resignations to Aleem Khan over the issue.

Aleem Khan had earlier recommended candidates [for national and provincial assemblies] from each constituency in Lahore.

Among them were Shoaib Siddiqui, Nazeer Chohan, Nasrullah Mughal, Mian Javed Ali, Irshad Dogar, Zulqarnain Taj, Farrukh Javed Moon, Abdul Rasheed Bhatti, Jamil Asghar Bhatti and Sardar Kamil Umer.

Following are the names and constituencies of candidates who returned their tickets:

Hamid Sarwar – PP-145

Hamid Mairaj – NA-123

Chaudhry Talib – NA-130

Jamshed Iqbal Cheema – PP-146

Yameen Tipu – PP-144

‘Tickets not allotted yet’

PTI central information secretary Shafqat Mehmood told The Express Tribune that the party has not issued any ticket to candidates in Lahore and only the names have been finalised by the central parliamentary board.

The tickets will be awarded to the selected candidates on April 8, Mehmood added.

He also maintained that Aleem Khan and Cheema were trying to put pressure on the party by using such tactics.

PTI’s central information secretary had earlier said that most of the names recommended by the Lahore chapter were rejected because the party had decided to award tickets on merit.

Most of the candidates were in real estate business and favoured by Aleem Khan for that reason, a party leader seeking anonymity told The Express Tribune.

On the other hand, sources said that a five-member APML committee, headed by Brigadier (retired) Rashid Qureshi, was in contact with other political groups, including MQM and PML-Likeminded for possible seat adjustments.

Qamar Mansoor of the MQM confirmed discussions were ongoing but added that any decision on seat adjustments would be made only after all parties submit their nomination papers.

Imran submits papers for hometown seat

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan also filed nomination papers for his home constituency NA-71 (Mianwali).

He will contest elections from four constituencies – NA-126 (Lahore-IX), NA-71 (Mianwali), NA-56 (Rawalpindi) and NA-1 (Peshawar-I). Senior PTI leader Ayla Malik has filed her papers as a covering candidate for her party chief in NA-71.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30^th, 2013.

This delay in finalising candidates comes after party chairman Imran Khan said on March 22 that all names would be confirmed within five days. Despite this statement, the board relaxed after the Election Commission of Pakistan extended deadline for filing nomination papers.

According to a senior board member, the board allowed Imran Khan to contest polls from four constituencies — NA-126 Lahore, NA-71 Mianwali, NA-56 Rawalpindi and NA-1 Peshawar. However, the approval for other senior office-bearers, such as President Javed Hashmi and Vice Chairperson Shah Mehmood Qureshi, to contest from more than one constituency has not been received.

Furthermore, the proposal to field Hashmi against former premier and Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif from NA-120 constituency has also not matured as yet.

Central Information Secretary Shafqat Mehmood said that CPB meetings were still in progress to discuss a variety of issues, and that tickets would be awarded on April 1, on the recommendation of the provincial presidents.

According to Mehmood, the PTI plans to host a huge public gathering in Mingora on March 31, primarily to celebrate the election campaign.

Another senior board member said that the tickets for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa candidates have been finalised, but Punjab is still an issue, as there are more qualified aspirants than tickets. Apparently, many heavyweights have applied for Lahore tickets, amping up the competition.

Although the CPB discussed all applications thoroughly during the meetings, the final nod to the list was given by Imran Khan on Thursday. According to the board, the grace period announced by the election commission gave the party much needed breathing space to re-think recommendations.

The chairperson will head the CPB meeting on April 1 to finalise the list of candidates. All unsuccessful aspirants declined tickets will immediately be asked to withdraw nomination papers.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2013.

LAHORE: Pakistan Railways (PR) authorities plan to privatise one more train and restart operations of another train suspended in March last year, The Express Tribune has learnt.

PR authorities had suspended operations of the Quetta Express in March 2012 because of a shortage of locomotives and a deficit in its earnings and expenditures. The train had run between Lahore and Quetta.

Now the position of locomotives has purportedly improved, and PR authorities have decided to restore operations of the Quetta Express with an aim to facilitate the inhabitants of Balochistan. The train service will be restored in mid-April, after 13 months of suspension.

PR authorities are also working to outsource the Bolan Mail train service, which connects Quetta and Karachi, with an aim to make the train a successful joint venture that earns Railways healthy profits.

Bolan Mail will have 10 coaches, and PR authorities are likely to invite an expression of interest from interested parties in the coming week.

Railways has already privatised three trains, out of which two are successfully in business, while one has defaulted on payments to the tune of Rs370 million to PR, an official close to the development said.

This would be the fourth train, after the Shalimar and Business expresses and the Night Coach, which have been outsourced by PR on the basis of a public-private partnership.

The Night Coach consists of 14 coaches, and runs between Lahore and Karachi via Faisalabad and Multan. Shalimar Express runs between Karachi and Lahore, while the third semi-privatised train service, the Business Express, also ran between Lahore and Karachi. It has also defaulted on Rs370 million payments due to Pakistan Railways.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 26^th, 2013.

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Be that as it may, heavy rain accompanied by strong winds in Lahore dampened Imran’s ‘tsunami’ with the public address system failing before he could unveil his party’s manifesto at the election rally.

The weather may have cut short Imran’s speech, but it didn’t hold back an enthusiastic crowd, which waved party’s flags to make a sea of green and red, and the party chief himself, who made six promises to the nation.

Imran, who chose the venue of Saturday’s rally for being the site where Indian Muslims first made their official demand for a separate homeland, pledged in his speech to always “speak the truth with  the nation”.

He went on to assure that he would wage a ‘jihad’ against oppression and side with the oppressed, including women and minorities, if he came to power.

“I will establish the supremacy of law, I will not have property or bank accounts abroad,” he said, alluding to accusations of corruption against politicians.

“It is my promise to you that I will not misuse power or indulge in nepotism and I will protect taxpayers’ money,” Imran said, while making his four and fifth promises.

As his final pledge, the PTI chief assured that his party would stand with overseas Pakistanis and protect their rights.

Imran also went on to demand an undertaking from his supporters.

“The nation should become my strength to remove injustice from the society,” said Imran, adding that every person in the country had to volunteer in PTI’s revolution to ensure its success.

Meanwhile, PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who defected to PTI from the ruling party PPP, said the manifesto would be formally announced at a press conference “over the next few days”.

According to the agencies figures, the numbers on Saturday fell short of an estimated 150,000. Imran drew crowds of around 200,000 at an enormous rally in Lahore in October 2011, kickstarting what he has called a “tsunami”.

On the other hand, DIG Operations Tahir Rai said around 70,000 people attended Saturday’s rally, including office bearers elected in recent intra-party elections across the country. He went on to add that the gathering was dealt a premature ending due to the weather conditions.

PTI live-streamed the rally on the Internet, a medium that the party has tapped into heavily through social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. Young men and women, his core support base, dominated the crowd, wearing “Imran Khan” and “Revolution” T-shirts, and caps in the party colour.

“We want change,” said Abdul Rehman, who travelled Peshawar.

“We are fed up with the old faces. They are the symbol of the status quo. We want to bring new faces and Imran Khan should come to power now,” said another young man from Gujrat.

Authorities had beefed up security for the rally and diverted traffic. They also shut mobile phone networks at the venue and immediate surrounding area as a precaution to guard against bombs, some of which are detonated by telephones.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2013.

Party officials say there would be several speeches as well as national songs and music suited for a patriotic mood.

The organising committee has rented 50,000 chairs. As many as 3,000 youths will perform various volunteers duties including providing security and guiding the participants to designated areas.

The police will deploy 1,500 personnel for security. Five entry and exit gates will be installed, including two gates reserved to use in an emergency. Out of the three gates, two would be for men and one for women. The party will install 16 walk-through gates. Drinking water will be provided. Separate areas have been reserved for the media and observers.

PTI Punjab President Ejaz Chaudhry said Khan would administer the oath to 80,000 newly elected office bearers. All the newly elected office-bearers have been directed to ensure participation to mark a show of strength. Chaudhry predicted over half a million participants.

Dr Yasmin Rashid, the newly elected general secretary of the Punjab chapter, concurred with Chaudhry on the numbers. She said the most participants would be from central and west Punjab. This, she said, was a good opportunity for those seeking party tickets to show their strength.

“We are expecting all aspirants for tickets to bring supporters to hear the change manifesto,” Rashid added. She said she expected 70 per cent of the city’s population to participate “directly or indirectly”.

Central information secretary Shafqat Mehmood said people from all walks of life would be taking part in the gathering. “The gathering will mark the revival of The Tsunami. Leaders will deliver speeches, the young will present national songs and bands will play music. It will be the biggest political gathering in the history of Pakistan.”

Mehmood said that it was a shame that some government officials were removing PTI posters and banners. 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 22^nd, 2013.