Nazriati Group likely to announce joint candidate against Chaudhry Sarwar. PHOTO: EXPRESS
The race for the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) Punjab presidency has intensified as several groups within the party are considering fielding a joint candidate against Chaudhry Sarwar, the former Punjab organiser.
Calling itself the Nazriati Group (ideological group), the alliance of several PTI groups has held several meetings. They are considering seven candidates for Punjab president.
Last Friday, a meeting of the various groups was held in Lahore to look into the credentials of the potential candidates. A review committee, comprising Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Hamid Khan, Saifullah Niazi, Dr Abul Hassan, Malik Sohail Kamrial and Ejaz Chaudhry, had interviewed the potential candidates. Those being considered are: Shafqat Mehmood, Omar Sarfaraz Cheema, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Rai Azizullah, Muhammad Madni and Waleed Iqbal.
Sarwar had announced his candidacy for the Punjab presidency earlier this year. Several others candidates had also announced plans for running for the top provincial slot.
Former PTI Punjab president Ejaz Chaudhry had earlier withdrawn from the race. Chaudhry, once considered a frontrunner for the post, said he wanted to contest for a central position.
The Nazriati Group was expected to announce its candidate by Tuesday.
However, no such announcement was made, leading to rumours that Chaudhry might reenter the provincial race.
A party source privy to committee’s deliberations said that Chaudhry had been asked to reconsider his decision to withdraw from the race.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Ejaz Chaudhry, however, said that he stood by his decision to withdraw from the provincial race. “I want to focus on the centre. There is still some ambiguity about the electoral system for the centre. That is why I cannot yet comment on which office I will be contesting,” he said.
Chaudhry said the committee had reached a decision regarding a joint candidate for the Punjab president. “The decision is likely to be announced soon by Hamid Khan. The announcement was earlier expected to be made by Tuesday. However, it has been delayed,” he said.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Hamid Khan said that it was too early to comment on the committee’s choice. “The committee will conclude its work only once all groups have agreed to a candidate,” he said.
Candidates being considered by the committee belong to various PTI factions. Waleed Iqbal is from the Insaf Markaz, Muhammad Madni belongs to the Hamid Khan-backed Workers’ Alliance and Dr Yasmin Rashid is from the Ejaz Chaudhry group.
Khan said once a joint candidate had been announced, all the groups in the alliance would support him. “All those who submitted their credentials for consideration are bound to honour the committee’s decision,” he said.
Another PTI member close to the committee revealed that Iqbal, Rashid and Rai Azizullah were the strongest candidates. Iqbal is also being considered for Lahore chapter’s presidency.
The committee is now expected to announce its candidate before the end of the current week.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 10th, 2016.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ