RAHIM YAR KHAN: Differences have cropped up in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) district organization with the announcement of general election date by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

More than 31 former councillors of the PML-N, along with local office-bearers, gathered at a marquee here on Friday night and showed their strong reservations against the party leader and the National Assembly former deputy speaker Jaffar Iqbal Gujjar.

Speaking at the meeting arranged by former councillor Abdul Waheed Bhatti, president of MPL-N district lawyers wing Rana Sher Afgan and chief of district youth wing Umer Munir alleged that Jaffar Iqbal Gujjar was not following the party’s policy of “vote ko izzat do” and disrespecting the workers.

They said that on Friday when former Municipal Committee (MC) vice chairman Abdul Latif Bhatti, with some traders, went to Gujjar’s farmhouse at Jaffarabad for resolution of the issue of increase in rent of 1,150 shops of MC, Gujjar denied to solve the problem and insulted them.

They said Gujjar referred them to his son, former MPA Umar Jaffar, instead of himself resolving the issue.

Abdul Waheed Bhatti claimed that Gujjar didn’t meet the PML-N workers and insulted them by making them wait for hours outside his farmhouse.

Bhatti said if the party leadership gave ticket from PP-262 to a “wrong” candidate, the workers will decide their own course of action in the coming election.

According to local sources in PML-N, party workers were strongly disappointed with Jaffar Iqbal Gujjar and his family because they only visited the constituency when elections were announced, otherwise they preferred to live in Islamabad.

They also said that most of the party workers didn’t want that PP-262 ticket should be issues to Umar Jaffar Gujjar.

However, some insiders claim that the meeting of the councillors and office-bearers was a “pressure tactic” used by PML-N district secretary general Mian Imtiaz Ahmed, who wanted all the party tickets in the district to be issued with his consent.

Jaffar Iqbal Gujjar refused to comment on the the allegations leveled against him.

Mian Imtiaz Ahmed said all the differences within the party’s district organisation will be resolved soon.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2023