GUJRAT: Four-time MNA and senator Raja Muhammad Afzal, of Jhelum, died after a prolonged illness on Saturday. He was 86.

He started his political career in 1983 with winning Jhelum Municipal Committee chairman election and later on from 1985 to 1999, he remained MNA and senator, mostly from the PML-N.

In 2002, he could not contest the poll due to graduation bar and fielded his two sons -- Raja Asad and Raja Safdar -- as PML-N nominees on National Assembly seats of Jhelum and only Asad won but in 2008 his both sons clinched NA seats.

In 2012, he left the PML-N over differences on award of party ticket for a by-election. The vote was held after a provincial assembly seat fell vacant as Khadim Gurmala’s son Nadeem Khadim was held ineligible over dual nationality.

Raja Afzal asked the PML-N to either give the ticket to him or declare the constituency open. Party chief Nawaz Sharif accepted his demand, but Raja Afzal lost the polls.

Later, he ended his decades-old affiliation with the PML-N in April 2013, just weeks before the general election, and joined the PPP.

Raja Afzal contested as a PPP nominee on two seats in the 2013 election but lost the poll. Later, he joined the PTI but he supported PML- N’s Raja Matloob Mehdi in the 2016 by-election against PTI’s Fawad Chaudhry. That was his last public political activity. He did not play any role in the July 2018 general election.

His funeral prayers were offered in an open place near his residence in Jhelum after which he was laid to rest.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2020

Opinion

Who bears the cost?

Who bears the cost?

This small window of low inflation should compel a rethink of how the authorities and employers understand the average household’s

Editorial

Internet restrictions
Updated 23 Dec, 2024

Internet restrictions

Notion that Pakistan enjoys unprecedented freedom of expression difficult to reconcile with the reality of restrictions.
Bangladesh reset
23 Dec, 2024

Bangladesh reset

THE vibes were positive during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent meeting with Bangladesh interim leader Dr...
Leaving home
23 Dec, 2024

Leaving home

FROM asylum seekers to economic migrants, the continuing exodus from Pakistan shows mass disillusionment with the...
Military convictions
Updated 22 Dec, 2024

Military convictions

Pakistan’s democracy, still finding its feet, cannot afford such compromises on core democratic values.
Need for talks
22 Dec, 2024

Need for talks

FOR a long time now, the country has been in the grip of relentless political uncertainty, featuring the...
Vulnerable vaccinators
22 Dec, 2024

Vulnerable vaccinators

THE campaign to eradicate polio from Pakistan cannot succeed unless the safety of vaccinators and security personnel...