PESHAWAR, Dec 8: The alliance of Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid for the next general elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa seems to be in the doldrums as the Leaguers may prefer any other party to the PPP.

Also in the past, these parties had no cordial relations in the province because PML-Q was part of the former Musharraf regime and now when both the parties are coalition partners in the centre, they have developed differences in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.Main reason of the differences is stated to be former PML-Q provincial secretary information Nighat Orakzai, who recently joined PPP.

She is also member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on a reserved seat of PML-Q.

PML-Q central senior vice president Ajmal Wazir told Dawn that his party was a coalition partner of the government but it was not bound to maintain the alliance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He expressed anger over Ms Orakzai’s decision to join Pakistan People’s Party and described it violation of the PPP-PML-Q understanding.

“By persuading Nighat Orakzai to join his party, PPP provincial president Anwar Saifullah has stabbed PML-Q in the back and that is why my party’s central leadership has taken it very seriously,” he said.

“We cannot expect any good from PPP in the province as its leaders are after our people, persuading them to join PPP, which is very wrong and violation of the agreement,” he said.

He said his party was supporting the government but PPP was also bound to respect PML-Q’s mandate in the province.

The PML-Q leader claimed that many PPP people in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wanted to join PML-Q but his party was avoiding them only for the reason that both parties have an alliance in the centre and it would not be a wise step to damage each others’ interests.

“Now, we have an option to persuade the annoyed people of PPP to join us. Anwar Saifullah is just making hollow claims about winning next elections in the province. He will really deserve praise if he wins the seat in the home district,” he said.Referring to version of Ms Orakzai that she would not resign from the assembly seat because some other PML-Q MPAs had also joined PML-N and they did not resign from the assembly, Mr Wazir said Ms Orakzai had been member of the assembly for 10th consecutive years on reserved seat and never contested the elections on general seat.

“There is a difference in the case of men MPAs leaving the party and that of Nighat Orakzai. The men MPAs came to the assembly by direct elections but she had got special favour of our party. She betrayed the leadership,” he said.

The PML-Q leader rejected Ms Orakzai’s complaints against the woman MPA against the provincial leadership, saying it was no excuse if she did not get invitation of a meeting in Hazara division.

“She herself was the information secretary and it was her duty to keep herself updated about the party’s functions and events,” he added.

However, provincial PPP secretary coordination Ayub Shah told Dawn that his party had no agreement with PML-Q to block the entry of each other’s members to their folds.

He said it was the fundamental right of everyone to take decisions on his/her own.

“It is a common practice in politics to quit one party to join another. Many of PPP people had joined Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf but they returned. No one has the right to object to it,” he said.

When contacted, Ms Nighat said she had cordial relations with Chaudhry Shujaat and Chaudhry Pervez Ellahi but PML-Q provincial president Qasim Shah forced her to quit the party. She said she would resign from the assembly seat if PML-Q filed reference against her.