Lal Haveli seeks lord mayor’s seat

A cold war has started between the government and pivot of politics in the garrison city over the first lord mayor of Rawalpindi in the anticipated local bodies’ election next year.

Instead of going for a joint candidate to prevent vote dispersion, Pakistan Awami League (PAL) and ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) may go for separate candidates, political observers told The Express Tribune.

Under the new local bodies' system, the lord mayor would be chosen directly by public, instead of councillors’ votes.

Taking advantage of the situation, PAL has decided to launch Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed’s younger nephew Sheikh Shakir Rafique in politics through local bodies election next year.

Shakir’s brother Sheikh Rashid Shafique is an MNA and federal parliamentary secretary too. He was elected at behest of the Lal Haveli powers.

Sources told The Express Tribune that AML has started lobbying for Shakir’s name for the Lord Mayor of Rawalpindi.

Meanwhile, the members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) including ex-chairman Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Arif Abbasi and incumbent PTI Rawalpindi District President Shehriyar Riyaz are also active.

Both PTI officials are busy lobbying within the party to get officially nominated for the lord mayor's seat. Riyaz’s father had served as a councilor too and is thus acquainted with local bodies politics.

Moreover, Abbasi was an MPA but he did not get a ticket in the 2018 general elections. Later after the formation of government in Punjab by PTI, he was appointed as RDA chairman.

Sources told that four other PTI officials were also keen to procure a ticket for the mayor of the garrison city.

Meanwhile, sources said the Punjab government has approved funds worth over Rs1.37 billion to be released through ruling party’s lawmakers for neighbourhood development schemes in Rawalpindi.

These funds are part of Rs5.55 billion package for micro-level development schemes across the province to further strengthen position of the ruling party at grass-root level.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7^th, 2020.