MUZAFFARGARH, April 9 The run-up to NA-178 by-elections scheduled for May 15 has taken a dramatic turn as two siblings - the scions of the late Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan - have announced burying their political hatchet and preserving and furthering the legacy of their late father from the Pakistan Democratic Party (PDP) platform.

The grave of the late Nawabzda proved magnet for the siblings on Friday and they launched their combined venture with Nawabzada Mansoor Ahmad Khan announcing stepping aside in favour of his younger brother Nawabzada Iftikhar Ahmad Khan to contest the by-polls on a PDP ticket, making the contest interesting.

Earlier, hundreds of people gathered at the residence of the late Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan in Saif Nagar, Khangarh, and called upon both the brothers, Mansoor and Iftikhar, to defuse their differences. Later, all members of the Nawab family and their staunch supporters went to the grave of veteran politician, called by many Pakistanis as father of democracy, where both his sons pledged unity and political zeal.

Mansoor said he would leave the field open for his younger brother Iftikhar if he decided to contest from the PDP platform. Iftikhar readily accepted the offer and decided to leave the PML-N.

Iftikhar said that after the disqualification/resignation of Jamshed Dasti on March 25, his (Iftikhars) supporters were compelling him to contest the elections at any cost. He said he would not disappoint his supporters and sympathisers.

Iftikhar left the PDP before the 2008 general elections and joined the PML-Q but lost to Dasti at NA-178 even after bagging 45,900 votes. In 2009, he left the PML-Q and joined the PML-N, ostensibly in a bid to get a party ticket in the next elections.

The PPP and the PML-N, being coalition partners in the Punjab government, are in an arrangement that either of the partners would not pitch its candidate against the other in by-polls to any constituency which was originally won by any of them in the general elections. This had indeed dashed Iftikhars dreams to become an MNA in the forthcoming by-elections.

The PMLN is likely to skip fielding its candidate against the PPP candidate in sanctification of the unwritten agreement and perhaps this had compelled the junior Nawabzada to explore other avenues to survive in politics.

Speaking on the occasion, Iftikhar said he was very happy to return under the umbrella of his fathers party and was feeling very much proud of his latest decision. The followers and supporters of the late Nawabzada distributed sweets to mark the unification of the two siblings and congratulated the eldest among them, Nawabzada Mansoor, for being tender-hearted towards his younger brother.

On the other hand, Malik Ghulam Mustafa Khar filed his nomination papers on Friday. He eyed a tacit PML-N favour and said that Nawaz Sharif would support him in the May 15 elections. "Though Sharif will not be able to support me openly, he will not oppose me either," Khar added.

Khar came to file his nomination papers in a rally - though it did not appear to be very impressive. Khar said that it was bad luck for the area that an MNA from this constituency was disqualified for possessing fake degrees. He said he would be available to serve the masses any time. He appealed to the people to elect a local representative for them and reject the one who was imported from Multan - a reference to PPP candidate Syed Ahmed Mujtaba Gilani, who is brother of Prime Minister Syed Yousf Raza Gilani.

In a related development, Dasti was made prime ministers adviser on livestock, dairy development and fisheries - apparently to pacify him after he was denied a PPP ticket.

The seat fell vacant in the wake of resignation Dasti had to tender after being admonished by a Supreme Court bench on March 25 when his academic credentials turned out to be fake.

Nawabzada Iftikhar had moved the Supreme Court to examine the academic qualification of his rival candidate and challenged the degree of a religious seminary Dasti had appended to his nomination papers to show he was a graduate. The graduation condition was a prerequisite to contest the 2008 general elections.

Talking to Dawn, Dasti said he was happy after being appointed adviser to the prime minister. He said the development was good both for him and the party, otherwise he was going to contest the elections as an independent candidate. He said now he would not file his nomination papers and support the PPP candidate instead.