PESHAWAR: Pakistan Peoples Party, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has once again changed its policy by avoiding holding intra-party elections and decided to announce new office-bearers through nominations in the province.

The first nomination, announced on Saturday, was that of MPA Ms Nighat Orakzai who was appointed provincial president of the party’s women wing. Earlier, this seat was held by former MNA Ms Asma Alamgir for many years. A number of other women were among the aspirants for the slot, but Ms Nighat was appointed perhaps due to her active role in the provincial assembly and cordial relations with media persons.

Sources said that the central leadership had rejected the recommendation of the provincial chapter of the party for holding intra-party elections and described it inapplicable because it would set a precedent for the rest of provinces and the centre.

They said that the demand had been raised mainly by the KP province because majority of the workers were annoyed with the office-bearers and thus they voted for candidates of rival parties, resulting in a crushing defeat for PPP in last general elections. The only solution to remove the rifts, a special committee of the party had earlier decided, was to dissolve the organisational units and hold intra-party elections. Though PPP organisational units were dissolved in 2014, the demand for intra-party elections was raised in Sept 2013 when Anwar Saifullah Khan was its president in the province.

Nighat Orakzai nominated party’s women wing president

Sources said that a meeting of the provincial core committee with Faryal Talpur had also endorsed the decision to hold intra-party elections, but the party’s co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari vetoed it.

“The provincial president has been directed to select suitable names for different offices and send them to centre for approval to be announced in the media,” the source revealed.

This decision will surely increase problems for the provincial president as another strong group comprising senior people in different districts of the province has initiated taking the workers into confidence while advocating for intra-party elections.

On Saturday also, the disgruntled workers held a meeting at the residence of Dr Zaman Khattak at Peshawar University which was attended by people from various districts. The senior people who spoke on the occasion included Barrister Masood Kausar, Tariq Khattak, Saeed Ahmed Khan, Syed Tahir Abbas, Akbar Khan advocate, Israr Nahqai, Raziul Mulk, Sirajuddin, Jabbar Advocate, Ghani Gul Mehsud, Kifayat Orakzai, Ijaz Yousufzai, Abdul Akbar Khan, Khwaja Yawar Naseer, Ayub Shah, Azam Afridi, Mian Muzaffar Shah, Ashfaq Khalil, Misbahuddin, Bacha Hussain and Zulfiqar Afghani.

They resolved that they would not accept any of the people as office-bearers who plundered the national wealth, brought a bad name to the party and neglected workers in the hour of need. “The meeting expressed confidence in the leadership of Asif Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto, but rejected the recently formed provincial core committee,” a statement issued here by Bahramand Khan Tangi, media coordinator, said.

The core committee members include Khyber Pakhtunkhwa PPP president Khan Zada Khan, Anwar Saifullah Khan, Syed Zahir Ali Shah, Eng Humayun Khan, Najamuddin Khan, Shuja Khan, Qalbe Hassan, Rahim Dad Khan, Faisal Karim Kundi and Nighat Orakzai.

Besides, the meeting also urged the leadership to launch membership drive for holding intra-party elections in the province. The participants decided to celebrate the 61st birthday of late Benazir Bhutto by cutting a cake at the residence of Abdul Akbar Khan in Mardan on June 21 and to announce schedule for visits to different districts of the province.

When contacted, Syed Ayub Shah said that the meetings of, what he called, ideological workers were not against anyone, but the activists were opposed to corrupt elements who used the party’s name for personal gains in the past.

“The party leadership should take disgruntled workers into confidence,” he said. Asma Alamgir also urged the leadership to take decisions keeping in view the feelings of workers.

When asked if the party has dropped the idea of intra-party elections, the PPP provincial president’s media coordinator Fahim Khattak said it was not yet officially notified. “The core committee had recommended intra-party elections, but the decision about this would be taken by the party’s chairman and co-chairman,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2014