Provincial reshuffling: PML-N’s veteran party leaders suffer at the behest of new ones

Old party workers have been evicted from their offices without consultation to accommodate new members.

PESHAWAR:

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is restructuring the party in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa by changing office bearers to accommodate new entrants. Veteran party leaders are terming the internal shuffle as ‘undemocratic.’

The PML-N’s president for Peshawar district, Abdus Sattar Khalil, who had been serving the party since 1994, resigned in protest on Wednesday. Inducting new office bearers without consultation is creating further rifts, Khalil said.

“We are neither consulted nor taken on board when new people are appointed, which is against internal democracy,” he maintained.

Provincial General Secretary Rahmat Salam Khattak issued a list of new district office bearers across the province, which party leaders said was a decision taken overnight and in contradiction of democratic norms.

A party leader familiar with the matter said that out of the 24 people assigned new offices, 18 are new entrants while only six are old party workers. This decision was imposed and is creating unrest in the party across the province, he added. Old party workers were elected through intra-party elections and no meeting was called to discuss the matter, he said.

“We will try to control the situation and not let old workers leave,” said Central General Secretary Iqbal Zafar Jhagra. The matter was discussed with party chief Mian Nawaz Sharif and it will be settle amicably, he added.

In response to a question, Jhagra acknowledged that there should have been a meeting with veteran party leaders before appointing other people in their position. The list of new office holders was finalised by Pir Sabir Shah and Amir Muqam, he said, adding that he was not responsible for the decision making.

“The party is split into groups in KP,” said Wafiq Khan, who was replaced by Sifatullah as the general secretary for Peshawar district. The decision should be taken back and a more democratic way should be adopted, he said.

Khan has been serving the party for 25 years. He said that the party’s 40-member Peshawar district cabinet is in contact with him. They have expressed reservations and will resign if the decision is not reversed. The party’s affairs will come to a standstill in Peshawar if members of the district cabinet quit, he added.

The shuffle in the Swat district sent Qavi Khan packing, who was replaced by Syed Mohammad Ali Shah as the district’s president. “I read this in a newspaper, there should have been a civilised way to do this,” . Ali previously served in the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2012.