Lahore - Disgruntled PML-N leader and independent candidate in NA-133 Syed Zaeem Hussain Qadri has dispelled the impression that he would defect from PML-N to another political party.

“I will join no other political party. I was, am and will remain an activist of Muslim League,” he said during an exclusive interview at Nawa-i-Waqt offices on Friday.

He said PML-N active Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal was well aware of the fact that the former raised voice thousands of times against such kind of politics in the party. He said he did not know that politics was done in camera by telling lies and doing flattery. He said during Musharraf era, he was put behind bars. Qadri was of the view that politics meant to struggle for the party and holding protests to save public interests.

He said victory or defeat was not a matter for him, adding he would continue doing politics. He denied the allegation of being part of the establishment’s plan. He said he had been offered various ministries for many times during the Musharraf regime but he turned down such offers.

Responding to a query, Zaeem Qadri said that party leadership did not contact him. He vowed to stand firm on his stance.

He claimed: “There is no existence of PML-N in the province as party is working without provincial president, general secretary and central general secretary.” He said there was no one to listen to workers across the province.

The former PML-N leader lauded the PTI leadership for inviting him. He said that he was an ideological worker of the party. He promised that he would not compromise on principles.

He said: “He has no issue with Waheed Alam, former MNA of his constituency. I have differences with the party leadership. It is party’s discretion to award ticket to anyone. I am a poor and ideological worker and ideological workers of the party will support my election.”

Zaeem Qadri said that former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal way lying that he did not contact him. He said that he talked to Ahsan several times but to no avail.

He said Kalsoom Nawaz is like his mother. He said that Kalsoom and he challenged former military ruler Pervez Musharraf and waged a struggle against him. He said that he preferred jail and torture to establishment’s offers. He said that he was offered a federal ministry, but he was not greedy; he was ideological. He said that now he stands by party workers who faced torture during the Musharraf era and sacrificed their money and children. He said the party did not do anything for such people and they are being ignored.

He said that he always condemned the Model Town incident because human lives were lost in this incident. He said this is not fair to blame anyone for the Model Town killings before completion of investigation into the incident. He said he will stand by court’s decision if the court punishes someone in this case. He said he is firm on his stance that the NAB law was enacted to force people to change their political loyalties. He however said he would stand by the NAB court if it punishes someone.

He said he must admit that he cannot understand politics and he did not know that leg pulling or talking against others is called politics. He said there is no truth in the reports that his conversation was recorded. Had there been any such issue, he said, the party leadership would have called him for explanation and punished him. He said that people should not tell such lies.

Syed Shoaibuddin