Within PTI: MNA asked to vacate one-room district office

Tiff between Abbottabad nazim, own party officials continues.

ABBOTABAD: Differences between the Abbottabad district government and parliamentarians continue to deepen following the chief minister’s barring the nazim from a Nathiagali event.

The district nazim has written a letter to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNA Dr Azhar Jadoon asking him to vacate an office which belongs to the district government. MNA Jadoon was asked by district nazim, who also belongs to PTI as well, to vacate the office within the week.

According to insiders, the cracks in solidarity first emerged during intra-party elections in 2012 between Jadoon and Sardar Sher Bahadur, who is the former district president and current district nazim. Bahadur was recently refused a party ticket for local government elections at the district level. The ticket went to Mushtaq Ghani’s brother-in-law instead. In what seems to be retaliatory action, Bahadur has demanded Jadoon vacate the single room office in the District Nazim Secretariat that he has occupied since his election as MNA.

Naib nazim Shaukat Tanoli also issued a letter two weeks ago, asking Jadoon to vacate the room as it was needed by the district government; however, no reply or action has been taken by the MNA as yet. “If the MNA does not vacate the room, we will go the legal route," Tanoli said.

Tanoli added the office belonged to district officials who are fighting to find space to work, with 77 members in the house. He added National Assembly Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi vacated his room voluntarily after the formation of district governments, however, the MNA seemed determined to keep the office space. MNA Jadoon was not available for comments.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2015.