Some leaders of the Muslim League-N in power in the federal government of Pakistan have expressed their lack of confidence in the provincial leadership of their party in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and demanded the removal of the current provincial president and general secretary.
This demand came at a time when the assemblies of Pakistan’s two provinces, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, were dissolved by the ruling Tehreek-e-Insaf party in mid-January, after which elections will be held there.
The date of elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been announced, but no decision has been reached in Punjab yet.
Ali Khan Yousafzai, Central Information Secretary of Muslim League-N Youth Wing, said in a statement that a meeting of the party held in Peshawar on Wednesday demanded the removal of Provincial President Amir Muqam and Secretary General Murtaza Javed from their posts.
The meeting expressed confidence in the central leadership of the party including Mian Nawaz Sharif and Shahbar Sharif.
In the statement, Ali Khan informed that the said meeting was held at the residence of former governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Iqbal Zafar Jhagra in Peshawar.
Apart from some other provincial leaders of the party, former Member of National Assembly and Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sardar Mehtab Abbasi and some disgruntled members from other districts of the province were also present in the meeting.
Sardar Mehtab Abbasi has been associated with Muslim League-N for the last four decades (Facebook).
Ali Khan Yousafzai, who was also present at the meeting, said in a statement that the meeting expressed concern over the ‘hardline’ of the party’s ideological workers.
“Amir Maqam has kept Muslim League as Amir Maqam League and while those who founded the party are being ignored.”
Arbab Khazar Hayat Khan from the Pakistan Muslim League-N, who was present in the meeting, said in a conversation with Independent Urdu: ‘In the meeting of the ideological workers, it was decided that Amir Maqam no longer holds the post of president because the party has appointed him. Distrusted.
Our struggle to free the Muslim League-N from the clutches of Amir Maqam League will continue.
Sardar Mehtab Abbasi has been associated with Muslim League-N for the past four decades and has held important positions like Chief Minister and Federal Minister. Addressing a rally in Mansehra in February this year, he criticized the party leadership and also termed the no-confidence motion against former Prime Minister Imran Khan as wrong.
Current Federal Interior Minister and PML-N central leader Rana Sanaullah confirmed the differences in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter of the party in a TV talk show.
He said that the central leadership made efforts to remove the rift between Mehtab Abbasi, Amir Maqam and Javed Abbasi, but it was not possible.
Independent Urdu tried several times to get a stand from Amir Maqam on the concerns expressed by fellow leaders in the Jamaat but could not be contacted directly.
Reasons for differences
According to Abbottabad-based journalist Kamal Hussain, Sardar Mehtab and Murtaza Javed Abbasi are keen to keep the affairs of PML-N under their control in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Sardar Mehtab Abbasi had decided not to contest the 2018 general elections after the PML-N ticket was given to Javed Abbasi instead of him, and Kamal Hussain believes that this made the differences between the two leaders more serious.
Kamal Hussain said that Murtaza Javed Abbasi is considered close to the party’s chief organizer Maryam Nawaz, while Mehtab Abbasi was somewhat removed from practical politics after losing the 2013 elections.
“The differences between the two leaders are so great that despite appearing to be one in the polls, they are pitted against each other and support other parties.
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‘Both the leaders want to keep their particular servants in the important positions of the party.’
The future of the party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Speaking to Independent Urdu, Peshawar-based senior journalist Peshagan Ali said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has never been the focus of Pakistan Muslim League-N and this trend has been the reason for the lack of leadership in the province.
He said that Muslim League-N has no vote bank in any other district or region except Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and severe differences are being seen between Sardar Mehtab Abbasi and Murtaza Javed Abbasi in this only stronghold of the province. are.’
Mizhan Ali said that in the past, the leadership of Muslim League-N came from Hazara Division, but for some time, Engineer Amir Makam from Shangla District of Malakand Division has been promoted to the position of Provincial President.
‘This is not acceptable to the senior leadership of the party in the province.’
He further said that most of the people who were part of PML-Q in the past are seen around Amir Maqam, which is not acceptable for the ideological members of PML-N.
Peshawar-based journalist Mehmood Jan Babar said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has harmed the Muslim League-N in Hazara Division and the recent differences within the party will not make a big difference.
