ISLAMABAD - After keeping the matter in a limbo for well over one-and-a-half month Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) chief Shujaat Hussain has finally nominated Tariq Bashir Cheema as the central secretary general of the party.

The intra-party elections of the PML-Q were held on October 19 last year, and almost all the office bearers at central and provincial levels returned unopposed with Shujaat Hussain retaining the slot of the party’s president while Pervaiz Elahi once again become the PML-Q Punjab Chapter president.

The elections on the slot of central secretary general of the party were withheld at that time because the PML-Q leadership wanted to see Mushahid Hussain Syed continue as the central secretary general of the party.

But Mushahid had distanced himself from the party leadership for certain reasons and differed with some of the party policies, an insider of the Q-League informed The Nation.

Despite serious efforts the differences could not be resolved and finally Mushahid silently distanced himself from the mainstream, although he is still part of the PML-Q.

Sources aware of the developments on this front informed The Nation that both Shujaat Hussain and Pervaiz Elahi were not happy the way Mushahid Hussain Syed was cultivating relations with the ruling PML-N, and had a soft corner for Sharif brothers.

It was due to his “tacit alignment” with the ruling PML-N, that he was shying away from criticising the ruling party and the government policies like the top leadership of the PML-Q was doing, a source in the party informed.

Sources said that Shujaat Hussain wanted to keep Mushahid Hussain Syed as his central secretary general but there was strong opposition within the PML-Q against him for his growing closeness with the ruling PML-N and his reluctance to come up with overt criticism of the government policies.

Some insiders in the Q-League informed The Nation that Mushahid had serious issues with the party policies on host of issues and the latest was on the Q-League support to the PTI’s planned lockdown of the federal capital on November 2 last year.

Similarly, Mushahid was also against the party’s support to Allama Tahirul Qadri’s sit-in in the federal capital in 2014, which had not gone well with the party’s leadership and resulted in aggravating his relations with the central PML-Q leadership.

Some party leaders in the know of the situation said that Mushahid developed serious differences with the party leadership on major policy matters and the future course of the PML-Q and the planned alliances with other parties.

Some people in the Q-League believe that Mushahid would soon join the ruling PML-N or he would be part of the PML-N in the next general elections.

Sources in the government did not confirm the reports of Mushahid joining the ruling PML-N, however, the prime minister’s liking for the fellow was confirmed from more than one source in the ruling party.

Mushahid came close to the ruling PML-N after becoming the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on the CPEC, a senior PML-N parliamentarian said.

He said that the prime minister was already impressed with his abilities and talent as he had played an active part in the PML-N government in the 1990s.