LAHORE: PML-N lea­der Daniyal Aziz, who recently launched a diatribe against senior party leaders, may not continue his journey with the former ruling party, as the ex-lawmaker has yet to apply for a party ticket, even though interviews of potential candidates are underway at Model Town in Lahore.

Mr Aziz, who hails from Narowal, had recently chi­ded PML-N Secretary Gen­­eral Ahsan Iqbal and Information Secretary Mar­riyum Aurangzeb over inflation and poor communication strategy during the 16-month rule of the Pakistan Democratic Movement.

He had also indirectly criticised the senior PML-N leadership.

Some observers believe Mr Aziz is not happy with the party leadership for ignoring him over the past five years, whereas some link his unhappiness to the distribution of election tickets for the upcoming polls in 2024.

PML-N leader has not applied for party ticket, even though interviews are underway

Dawn reached out to Mr Aziz, but he did not resp­ond to requests for comment, despite repeated attempts.

“Daniyal Aziz has not applied for a PML-N tic­ket for the MNA seat from his hometown. Besides, he con­­tinuously is going aga­inst the party line…,” a PML-N leader told Dawn on Tuesday.

Despite his reservations, the PML-N has not sent anyone to the former lawmaker to allay his concerns.

He said Mr Aziz had been annoyed with the party leadership for not giving him importance despite his “sacrifice for the elder Sharif”. Despite multiple attempts, the former lawmaker remained unavailable for comments.

Mr Aziz was convicted and disqualified by the Supreme Court over contempt in 2018. The former minister had been charged with contempt of court for his jibes against the judiciary in 2017.

In the defence of his le­­ader, Nawaz Sharif, during the Panama Papers case, he had made harsh comments about the judiciary.

After his disqualification, the party awarded an MNA ticket to his wife in 2018 elections. After that, Mr Aziz hardly appeared in the news, barring his accident in June 2022.

Last week, however, he launched a scathing attack on Ahsan Iqbal and Marriyum Aurangzeb for contributing to the poor decision-making that led to unprecedented inflation as well as a ‘pathetic’ communication strategy to counter the PTI narrative, respectively. Mr Iqbal and

Ms Aurangzeb had development and information portfolios in the Shehbaz’s cabinet, respectively.

In response to the remarks made by Daniyal Aziz, he was served a show-cause notice for “violating party rules”.

The notice said that Mr Aziz’s remarks about the party leaders “have not only breached the party discipline but also dama­ged its reputation”.

He was asked to file a reply within seven days. How­ever, Aziz questioned Sanaullah’s power to issue a show-cause notice to him.

To a question about a clash between Daniyal Aziz and Ahsan Iqbal during a media talk, Rana Sanaullah said both wanted to field their sons in a provincial constituency in Narowal. The party said Mr Aziz was not happy over the distribution of tickets in his area and had been holding a grudge against Mr Iqbal in this regard.

Daniyal Aziz’s case comes in sharp contrast with another party leader Main Javed Latif of Sheikhupura, who, despite diatribes against Shehbaz-led government, retained his party position.

He was issued a show cause notice on Shehbaz’s instructions, but Javed Latif never bothered to respond. The PML-N president could not take any action against him; in fact, he was directed by Nawaz Sharif to induct the PML-N leader into his cabinet in the PDM government.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2023