Shujaat takes PML-Q reins once again

ISLAMABAD - Central General Council (CGC) of Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid) here Monday elected Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Mushahid Hussain Sayed as partys president and secretary general respectively, while partys like-minded group boycotted the polls and, thus, fractured former ruling party into two factions. Shujaat and Mushahid were elected unopposed in a heavily attended CGC meeting, as no other person submitted nomination papers against them with the partys election commission. A large number of party lawmakers, district and tehsil nazims, office-bearers and workers from across the country participated in the election process and reposed confidence in Shujaat and Mushahid. On the other hand, a number of dissident leaders including Hamid Nasir Chattha, Hamayon Akhtar Khan, Salim Saifullah, Humayon Saifullah, Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, Sumera Malik, Muhammad Ali Durrani, Ejazul Haq, Maqbool Sheikh, Kashmala Tariq, Gohar Ayub Khan, Mir Zafarullah Jamali, Akram Zaki, Majid Malik and SM Zafar did not attend the CGC meeting. PML-Q Parliamentary Leader in the National Assembly Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat could also not attend the meeting due to his foreign visit. The boycott of polls by PML-Q stalwarts has virtually split Q-League into two segments; one under the leadership of Ch Shujaat Hussain while the other led by Hamid Nasir Chattha. On the other hand, the dissidents have also challenged the legal status of party polls in the Election Commission of Pakistan. The next phase of 'battle would be fought in the ECP where Chief Election Commissioner has summoned Ch Shujaat and Hamayon Akhtar on upcoming July 27. Provincial presidents of the party Chaudhry Pervez Elahi (Punjab), Amir Muqam (NWFP), Ghous Bux Mehar (Sindh) and Jam Yousuf (Balochistan), Opposition Leader in the Senate Wasim Sajjad and Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Zaheerud Din were also present on the occasion. According to partys election commission, nomination papers of only two candidates, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain for the slot of president and Mushahid Hussain for the position of secretary general, were received by 10:00am on Monday. Following the scrutiny of nomination papers, partys Chief Election Commissioner Kamil Ali Agha announced that Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had been elected as the party President for the 3rd consecutive time while Mushahid Hussain Sayed had been elected as PML-Q Secretary General for the 2nd time. The partys 1500-member CGC comprising 705 from Punjab, 300 from Sindh, 275 from NWFP, 115 from Balochistan, 55 from Islamabad, 35 from FANA and 12 from FATA was attended by around 1,300 members. The participation of party senators and MNAs is necessary in CGC meeting, as they are the ex officio members of the council. As many as 36 MNAs out of total 54, and 16 senators out of total 21 participated in the meeting. The MNAs who attended the meeting included, among others, Marvi Memon, Sheikh Waqas Akram, Pervaiz Elahi, Nousheen Saeed, Donia Aziz, Farzana Mushtaq, Ghous Bux Maher, Amir Muqam, Ahmadan Bugti, Riaz Pirzada, Rana Asif Touseef, Ch Asim Nazir, Akram Masih Gill, Ghias Ahmed Mela, Ch Wajahat Hussain, Anwar Ali Cheema, Sardar Talib Nakai, Diwan Ashiq Bokhari, Sardar Shahjahan Yusouf, Pir Aslam Bodlah, Malik Nauman Lengrayal, Shahnaz Sheikh, Bushra Rehman, Attya Inayatullah, Khawaja Shiraz Mehmood, Ayaz Shah Shirazi, Ghulam Hyder Samejo, Prince Nawaz Allai, Prince Mohyuddin, and Bahadur Ahmed Khan Sihar attended the elections. Among the prominent senators who could be watched in a jam-packed meeting were Wasim Sajjad, Seemi Siddiqui, Rehana Yahya Baloch, Mohabbat Khan Marri, Syed Javed Ali Shah and Nilofar Bkahtyar, while Deputy Chairman Senate Jan Muhammad Jamali did not attend the meeting. Deputy Chairman Senate Jan Jamali while talking to TheNation said that the party parliamentarians from Balochistan had nothing to do in the 'battle between Gujrat and Lahore. PML-Q leaders and lawmakers from Balochistan consider that the PML-Q regime failed to address the problems of the province, therefore, they did not take part in resentment, he said, adding that the stance of PML-Q leaders from Balochistan was unique and they were not backing Chattha faction. According to party constitution, the participation of party MPAs is not compulsory as they are ex officio members of respective provincial general councils but some MPAs are also regular members of CGC representing their respective provinces. According to reliable sources within the party, around 40 MPAs from Punjab attended the meeting while PML-Qs strength in the provincial assembly of Punjab is 83. Only three out of eight MPAs from Sindh participated in the meeting. Talking to TheNation Ghous Bux Mahar, President PML-Q Sindh, said that the participation of MPAs in the federal council was not must as all the MPAs were not the councillors of the body. My own son who is member of Sindh Assembly did not attend the meeting due to some compulsion but it does not mean that he is opposing the polls and he is also not the member of federal council, he said, adding that around 90 per cent councillors from Sindh had participated in the central elections. Senator Salim Saifullah, the key leader of like-minded group, failed to woo party lawmakers from his own province, as the participation from NWFP was very strong with 5 out of 6 MNAs and all 6 MPAs were present in the meeting. In the provincial assembly of Balochistan, the total strength of PML-Q was 19 but 13 MPAs defected from party after 2008 general elections and formed a separate like-minded group and became a part of coalition government, therefore, the actual strength of the party reduced to six MPAs and out of them two attended the meeting. Reacting on party polls, the like-minded group has termed PML-Q elections as 'sham and 'bogus and said that PML-Q was not a property of any family, adding Chaudhry Bothers had violated the constitution and norms of the party. PML-Q senior leader Hamid Nasir Chattha termed the elections as unconstitutional, adding it was not election rather 'selection. Senator Salim Saifullah and Riaz Fatyana said that PML-Q was a national party and not a property of Chaudhry Brothers. They said that they would not allow Q-League to be made Punjab League, adding provinces were neglected while all major ranks had been given to Punjab. They said that elections would be challenged in the Election Commission of Pakistan with full force. After getting elected unopposed, Chaudhry Shujaat thanked the members of general council and said that they had strengthened the democratic traditions by coming from various areas of the country. On 2008 general elections, Shujaat alleged that the elections were held in a special atmosphere 'but we accepted the mandate of every political party in the best interests of the country and the democratic institutions despite reservations. Referring to Balochistan issue, he said it was a sensitive issue and the report of Mushahid Hussains committee in that regard should be implemented. According to him, the real issues were shortage of water, loadshedding, unemployment and lawlessness, and he noted if they were not resolved soon, the situation might worsen. On IDPs issue, Shujaat said that PML-Q was the first to establish relief camps to help distressed people. He said that PML-Q had a vote bank in all four provinces, adding it would increase because people had seen the performance of PPP at centre and PML-N in Punjab. About Pak-India dialogue, the PML-Q President said that his party was with the Kashmiri people and India should stop committing excesses with them and the issue should be at the top during talks between India and Pakistan. Praising the Armed Forces for conducting successful operation against militants, he said the whole nation stood behind them and paid rich tributes to them. Shujaat said that the local bodies could not be abolished because of constitutional cover. He stated that solution of countrys problems was not the task of any one party 'but we all will have to sort out solution to these problems. He said that PML-Q had always adopted right stance on national issues including murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti, Lal Masjid operation and judiciary. He said that no big committee was needed for repealing the controversial 17th Amendment, as only Senator Wasim Sajjads bill in that regard was sufficient that had been submitted in the Senate Secretariat. Quaid-e-Azam, Fatima Jinnah and Allama Iqbal are our heroes and role models, Shujaat remarked. PML-Q Secretary General Mushahid Hussain said that PML-Q was not doing politics of NOC and the present government had no capability of making decisions. He accused PML-N of following foreign agenda. He said that the like-minded group was quarrelling with them for the sake of party offices under a conspiracy. We warn the government that contempt of Quaid-e-Azam would not be tolerated, he said, urging the Punjab government to stop political victimisation of PML-Q workers. Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has congratulated Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Mushahid Hussain Sayed on re-election as the PML-Q President and Secretary General, respectively. The Prime Minister in a message said that their re-election to partys top offices shows reposing of confidence by PML-Q in their leadership qualities.