PPP suspends Enver Baig’s membership

Baig, a veteran PPP leader who recently met Nawaz Sharif, says he has not received any written notice so far.

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad chapter of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has suspended the basic membership of former Senator Enver Baig on allegations of violating party discipline.

Baig, a veteran PPP leader who recently met PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, said that he has not received any written notice so far.

“I have been hearing reports [about the suspension] from the media. I will respond once I get a formal notice,” he said. The outspoken Baig, who retired as a senator three years back, was elected from Sindh. Usually the provincial chapter of the party, which the member belongs to, suspends the membership of any member found involved in violating party discipline.

Baig is considered to be close to the Makhdoom Amin Fahim group in the ruling PPP, which has already been sidelined within the party. Amin Fahim was one of the front-runners for the post of prime minister owing to the stature he enjoyed in the PPP during the time of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. However, President Asif Ali Zardari, who assumed the charge as co-chairman of the party, preferred Yousaf Raza Gilani for the office after the 2008 elections.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2011.