South representation: New governor likely to be from Bahawalpur
Chaudhry Saud Majid early front-runner for position.
Majid sacrificed his seat for the sake of party policy, the leadership feels he is owed something, says a PML-N official. PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE:
The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) is to select the next governor from southern Punjab, with Saud Chaudhry Majid and Sardar Zulfiqar Khan Khosa the two names on its shortlist so far.
The incumbent in the office, Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood, announced on Monday that he was resigning as it was the new government’s prerogative to appoint a governor of its choosing.
Sources in the PML-N said that there were two strains of opinion in the party, one proposing that the next governor be from Bahawalpur division, and the other that he be from DG Khan division. Almost everyone agreed that the governor should be from the south, since the likely chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, is from central Punjab.
Khosa, who is from DG Khan, has already served as Punjab governor, the last time that the PML-N controlled the federal government, from 1997 to 1999. Though he has been shortlisted for a potential repeat in the office, there are several factors weighing against him.
First, there is the poor relationship that his sons have with the PML-N. Sardar Saifuddin Khan Khosa ran in the general elections on a Pakistan Peoples Party ticket. And Sardar Dost Muhammad Khosa, who served briefly as chief minister in the PML-N provincial government in 2008 before Shahbaz Sharif retook the office, was denied a party ticket for the elections.
The second factor against Khosa is his rivalry with the Legharis of DG Khan, who have won some independent seats in the elections and are being wooed to join the government side. The Legharis are unlikely to be pleased with Khosa entering the governor’s mansion again.
Some in the PML-N also feel that there have been too many Khosas as governor recently, with Sardar Latif Khosa from DG Khan also having served in the office in 2011-12, under the PPP.
The other name that the PML-N’s senior leaders have so far considered for the post is that of Chaudhry Saud Majid of Bahawalpur. Some in the party believe that he will serve as a good counterweight to the influential Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood of the PPP in Bahawalpur.
Majid ran for the NA-187 seat in Bahawalpur, but lost by a small margin to Chaudhry Tariq Bashir of the PML-Quaid. The party believes the main reason for his loss was his opposition by the Nawab of Bahawalpur, over Majid’s decision not to join the parliamentary commission for the formation of a new province in south Punjab.
The PPP-led federal government had nominated Majid as a member of the commission, but he did not join it on the instructions of his party, which was boycotting the commission.
As a result, Nawab Salahuddin of Bahwalpur threw his support behind Cheema at NA-187. He launched a campaign in three union councils in Cholistan – the Nawab’s hunting grounds of Derawar, Mirana and Charnar – saying Majid’s boycott of the commission was the major obstacle to the formation of a Bahawalpur province.
“Majid sacrificed his seat for the sake of party policy. The leadership feels he is owed something,” said a PML-N official.
He added that Majid’s ascension to the governor’s office would also raise his profile and give him the chance to combat the Nawab of Bahawalpur and Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood, whose son won a Rahim Yar Khan seat in the elections.
The official said that discussions were still ongoing and party chief Nawaz Sharif would make a final decision once he is sworn in as prime minister.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 16th, 2013.
The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) is to select the next governor from southern Punjab, with Saud Chaudhry Majid and Sardar Zulfiqar Khan Khosa the two names on its shortlist so far.
The incumbent in the office, Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood, announced on Monday that he was resigning as it was the new government’s prerogative to appoint a governor of its choosing.
Sources in the PML-N said that there were two strains of opinion in the party, one proposing that the next governor be from Bahawalpur division, and the other that he be from DG Khan division. Almost everyone agreed that the governor should be from the south, since the likely chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, is from central Punjab.
Khosa, who is from DG Khan, has already served as Punjab governor, the last time that the PML-N controlled the federal government, from 1997 to 1999. Though he has been shortlisted for a potential repeat in the office, there are several factors weighing against him.
First, there is the poor relationship that his sons have with the PML-N. Sardar Saifuddin Khan Khosa ran in the general elections on a Pakistan Peoples Party ticket. And Sardar Dost Muhammad Khosa, who served briefly as chief minister in the PML-N provincial government in 2008 before Shahbaz Sharif retook the office, was denied a party ticket for the elections.
The second factor against Khosa is his rivalry with the Legharis of DG Khan, who have won some independent seats in the elections and are being wooed to join the government side. The Legharis are unlikely to be pleased with Khosa entering the governor’s mansion again.
Some in the PML-N also feel that there have been too many Khosas as governor recently, with Sardar Latif Khosa from DG Khan also having served in the office in 2011-12, under the PPP.
The other name that the PML-N’s senior leaders have so far considered for the post is that of Chaudhry Saud Majid of Bahawalpur. Some in the party believe that he will serve as a good counterweight to the influential Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood of the PPP in Bahawalpur.
Majid ran for the NA-187 seat in Bahawalpur, but lost by a small margin to Chaudhry Tariq Bashir of the PML-Quaid. The party believes the main reason for his loss was his opposition by the Nawab of Bahawalpur, over Majid’s decision not to join the parliamentary commission for the formation of a new province in south Punjab.
The PPP-led federal government had nominated Majid as a member of the commission, but he did not join it on the instructions of his party, which was boycotting the commission.
As a result, Nawab Salahuddin of Bahwalpur threw his support behind Cheema at NA-187. He launched a campaign in three union councils in Cholistan – the Nawab’s hunting grounds of Derawar, Mirana and Charnar – saying Majid’s boycott of the commission was the major obstacle to the formation of a Bahawalpur province.
“Majid sacrificed his seat for the sake of party policy. The leadership feels he is owed something,” said a PML-N official.
He added that Majid’s ascension to the governor’s office would also raise his profile and give him the chance to combat the Nawab of Bahawalpur and Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood, whose son won a Rahim Yar Khan seat in the elections.
The official said that discussions were still ongoing and party chief Nawaz Sharif would make a final decision once he is sworn in as prime minister.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 16th, 2013.