Shujaat seeks to block PML-Q’s intra-party polls

Embattled PML-Q president files application in ECP

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has filed an application with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to stop intra-party elections, while the party has also issued a show-cause notice to Punjab Secretary General Kamil Ali Agha.

Shujaat has made Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, the provincial secretary general, the central chairman of PML-Q and the commission party to the petition.

He stated in the petition that the intra-party elections are scheduled for August 10 without the permission of the party president and secretary general.

He requested the commission to issue a notice by August 5 to halt the polls due to Muharram.

Following the submission of his petition, the commission accepted his request for an early hearing, and the case has been scheduled for 11:30am on Friday.

On the other hand, the PML-Q Central Secretary General Tariq Bashir Cheema has issued a notice to Punjab Secretary General Agha on the instructions of the party chief.

Agha has been asked to explain within seven days the “unconstitutional and illegal removal” of the president and the central secretary general.

The notice also declared the July 22 meeting illegal and unconstitutional. It said that under the party’s constitution and the Election Commission Party Act, no provincial official is justified in dismissing the central officials.

The notice stated that Agha was guilty of intentionally harming the position of Shujaat by taking unconstitutional measures.

Therefore, it served him a warning that his party membership would be suspended if he fails to give an explanation within seven days.

It is worth mentioning here that the once-united family has recently shown signs of widening gaps. While reports hinted toward this time and time again, the suspicions were only confirmed when Shujaat’s letter against Elahi’s candidature for the provincial chief minister slot hindered his chances of success.

Following the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) victory in the by-elections, Elahi had the required numbers to clinch Punjab’s top slot, but Shujaat directed his party’s lawmakers to vote for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Hamza Shehbaz.

Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari accepted Shujaat’s stance and rejected the votes of 10 PML-Q lawmakers. This ruling was, however, dismissed by the Supreme Court (SC), which declared Elahi the winner of the election.

On top of this, last week, the party’s Central Working Committee (CWC) met with Agha in the chair. Various resolutions were passed in the meeting.

Later, addressing the media, Agha said that they had “unanimously decided to remove Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain from the party president’s position because his health condition has badly affected his decision power”.

He also announced that they had decided to oust Cheema “for using the party for his vested interests and hatching conspiracies”.

As the intra-party tussle continued, Shujaat, flanked by Cheema, held a press conference in Lahore, wherein he termed the reports from rifts within the party “false narratives”, and called for a reunion of the party.