CHAKWAL, March 12: Former district nazim, Sardar Ghulam Abbas, on Tuesday announced that he would contest elections independently, putting at rest all the rumours that he would join Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Mr. Abbas, who was in talks with PML-N’s leaders to join the party, was opposed by local leaders and workers.

He announced his decision at Balkassar village in presence of his friends, most of them formers nazims of union councils.

“I will contest elections from NA-60 (Chakwal-I) as an independent candidate and bring two candidates for PP-20 and PP-21”, he told Dawn on Tuesday night.

He admitted that his negotiations with the leaders of PML-N could not succeed. However, he preferred silence over NA-61 (Chakwal-II) a constituency which belonged to his old friend Ch Pervez Elahi.

Sources said that the PML-N leaders offered NA 61 and PP-22 and PP-23 to Sardar Ghulam Abbas but he refused and demanded tickets for NA-60, PP-20 and PP-22.

The PML-N leadership did not concede to his demand as it has already many potential candidates for NA-60, PP-21 and PP-22 and leaders.

Besides, there was strong opposition for him in these three constituencies.

Mr Abbas started his political career in 1985 from the platform of Pakistan People’s Party but kept on changing his loyalties as he joined PML-Q when it was formed during Musharraf regime.

He quit PML-Q in 2011 and joined PTI but hardly after a year he left the PTI.

Mr. Abbas has served as a provincial minister during first government of Benazir. He remained district nazim for eight years while his nephew Sardar Aftab Akbar served as tehsil nazim of Chakwal.