Remaining unfazed: Sarwar reiterates he is aiming for top slot

Former governor raps critics

LAHORE: Former Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Punjab organiser Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar on Wednesday reiterated his commitment to vie for the slot of the party’s provincial wing president in the forthcoming intraparty polls.

The former governor made the remarks while speaking to newsmen at an all parties’ conference (APC) convened by the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI). The former PTI provincial organiser also rapped those who had expressed reservations regarding his eligibility to contest the elections courtesy him have been the erstwhile governor of the province.



Sarwar is among those vying for the aforementioned slot. He has been in the limelight due to controversies regarding alleged misuse of office ahead of the polls, rumours about having quit the party and his eligibility to contest the elections.

“I am not one to buckle under pressure. I will contest the elections,” he said. Sarwar said that he was in the party and intended to remain with it, dismissing rumours of him having abandoned the PTI. Responding to query regarding his eligibility to contest the polls after holding public office less than two years ago, Sarwar said he failed to comprehend why some people were opposed to him contesting the elections on these grounds.

He said there were many examples of politicians who had held party and public offices simultaneously. “I fail to understand why some people are discomforted by the idea of me contesting for a provincial post in the elections after having resigned as governor,” Sarwar said.

The former governor said there was no restriction in the PTI pertaining to the passage of two years before being able to contest intra-party elections. He dismissed reports of having been pressured by elements in the party ahead of the elections. Sarwar was recently drawn into yet another controversy when the former PTI Punjab president Ejaz Chaudhry, also another contender for the same slot, demanded that only those who had served the party for at least three years be allowed to contest the elections.

Sarwar had joined the PTI last year after relinquishing the governorship of the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2016.