KARACHI - Following the Punjab province, several workers of the PML-N are not happy with the selection of candidates of the party for reserved seats for women in Sindh and National Assembly.
They alleged that party leaders have given preference to the family members in nominating them for the assembly’s reserved seats over sincere and active workers from Sindh. 
A group of PML-N women workers has announced protest demonstrations on Friday (today) against the party’s decision of choosing ‘strangers’ as candidates on the reserved seats for women.
The PML-N has submitted the priority list of ten candidates on reserved seats for women for Sindh Assembly in the Election Commission, which include PML-N’s Sindh’s women wing president Sorath Thebo, Mukhtiar Nazo Dharejo, Syeda Nishat Fatima, Faryal Rubab Hashmi, Shahnaz Hamid, Zeenat Shaikh, Dr Shaheen Saeed Arain, Beenish, Mirzadi and Ana Faisal.
While PML-N’s priority candidates on reserved seats for women for the National Assembly from Sindh province include Marvi Memon, Rahila Magsi who joined the party recently, PML-N’s women wing’s chief organiser Zahida Bhand, Zeenat Shaikh, Dr Shaheen Saeed Arain, Hussna Bano Bhutto and Faryal Rubab Hashmi.
Sources said that some of the selected candidates for reserved seats of women were those, who recently joined the PML-N while others are the family members of the party leaders.
The PML-N workers, who were deprived of their right to get the reserved seats for women, alleged that some of the women are strangers to the party and some others had not played their role for the party but were given priority which was injustice with the sincere and loyal workers.
PML-N activist Zaibun Nisa, who served as a councilor in the Karachi City Council twice, told The Nation that the workers stood with the leadership and sacrificed during the military regime of former dictator Pervez Musharraf but they were stabbed in the back by the provincial leadership by ignoring them on reserved seats for women in the Sindh as well as in the National Assembly.
“I had been elected twice the councilor of Karachi City Council with the votes of the people and stood with the party but the party leadership ignored me for reserved seats for women,” former councilor complained. The party’s provincial leadership committed ‘nepotism’ by selecting the ‘wives and daughters’ as candidates for women’s reserved seats of assembly.
She claimed that party’s information secretary Mushahiddulla Khan is a senator while his daughter Ana Faisal’s name has been finalised for the reserved seats for women in the Sindh Assembly.
Similarly, she continued that PML-N’s provincial leader Nehal Hashmi’s wife Faryal Rabab Hashmi was never seen in any activity of the party but her name is in the priority list for women’s reserved seats.
Zaibun Nisa said the party leadership committed murder of merit by awarding tickets to the women who entered the party through parachutes, which is injustice with the workers who remained active in the street politics and protests. She appealed to the Chief of PML-N Mian Nawaz Sharif to consider and review the decision of giving priority to the newcomers in the party.
Parveen Bashir, provincial general secretary women wing of PML-N, also supported the views of Zaibun Nisa, saying that chief organiser of the party’s women wing Zahida Bhand was a teacher but her name was included in the priority list of the party’s candidates for women’s reserved seats.
She also complained that women from party leaders’ families have been selected for the reserved seats, adding that they will inform the party chief Mian Nawaz Sharif about the incorrect decisions of the provincial leadership.
Another angry worker Dr Shahnaz, who fought election on PS-130 Karachi twice on PML-N ticket, narrated same complaint, announcing that she along with other women activists of the party will stage protest demo at Karachi Press Club on Friday (today) against wrong ‘nepotism’ of provincial leadership by awarding tickets to the ‘strangers’ on women’s reserved seat.
This scribe made several attempts to get the views of the party’s provincial leadership on the issue but Saleem Zia did not attend the call on his cellphone.
Meanwhile, the nomination papers of many candidates of the PML-N on different seats have been accepted by the returning officers concerned, which include Najma Shaheen for PS-101 or PS-97.