LAHORE: The PPP Punjab will have a new leadership next month as its five-member organising committee is going to submit its recommendations by Aug 30 to Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

In April, Bilawal had appointed a committee comprising Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Rana Farooq Ahmad Khan, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Chaudhry Manzoor and Nadeem Kaira for re-organisation and recommending names for central Punjab president and general secretary, its divisions and districts within three months.

However, the committee could not complete the task within the stipulated period primarily because of the holy month of Ramazan.

Now, as the party is planning to take to the streets on Panama leaks, Bilawal has reportedly asked all organising committees in the country to complete the task at the earliest so that new office-bearers could be appointed by next month.

“We will submit our recommendations to the party chairman regarding appointment of new leadership of central Punjab on Aug 30,” Chaudhry Manzoor told Dawn on Sunday.

Organising body to submit names to chairman by 30th

The committee members plan to meet workers in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Jhelum, Chakwal, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Khushab, Bhakkar and Mianwali this week before finalising the candidates. They will recommend at least three names for each slot.

To a question about the importance of office-bearers for launching a drive regarding Panamagate, Manzoor said: “Without office-bearers it is not easy for any party to show its street power.”

When asked if it would be the exclusive right of organising committee members to recommend any name of their choice, Manzoor said the committee was seeking workers’ opinion through a pro forma that would help make recommendations.

PPP senior leader Naveed Chaudhry said the party chairman was likely to announce the new leadership of Punjab in the mid of next month. “Workers are ready to take to the streets on the call of the chairman, however, under the supervision of office-bearers demonstrations are well organised,” Chaudhry added.

A source in the party says committee members Rana Farooq and Nadeem Afzal Chan are potential candidates for central Punjab president. Qamar Zaman Kaira’s name is also doing the rounds for the position.

For south Punjab, the organising committee comprising Yousuf Raza Gilani, Makhdoom Ahmad Mahmood, Nawazish Ali and Hayat Muhammad Khan is also going to recommend names by the end of this month for south Punjab president, general secretary, divisional and district presidents and general secretaries after meeting workers in Vehari, Lodhran, Khanewal, Bahawalnagar and Bahawalpur.

Abdul Qadir Shaheen, a coordination committee member in the southern region, told Dawn that Makhdoom Ahmad Mahmood’s name has been finalised for south Punjab president as there was no other candidate for the slot in sight so far.

Shaukat Basra is likely to be the general secretary in the region. For the Lahore president, the source says the names of Aslam Gill, Naveed Chaudhry, Faisal Mir and Auranzeb Burki are being considered.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2016