ISLAMABAD: Election troubles of PML-N leader Ayaz Amir are not over as he is facing stiff resistance within his party over the award of ticket for NA 60, Chakwal, his home constituency.
Mr Amir, a known columnist, was covered extensively last week by the media when a district returning officer rejected his nomination papers on the basis of articles 62 and 63 of the constitution.An election tribunal later accepted his appeal, clearing his candidature, but his party has yet to decide whether or not to field him as one of its candidates.Talking to Dawn, a senior PML-N leader said Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the former leader of the opposition in National Assembly, was opposing the award of party ticket to Mr Amir.
Mr Khan was supporting retired Maj Tahir Iqbal, a former federal minister of the PML-Q and nephew of retired Lt Gen Abdul Majeed, he said.The PML-N leader said that while the party’s chief, Mian Nawaz Sharif, was in favour of Mr Amir in view of his good image in the media, Mr Khan had the support of former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif.Their argument is that since Mr Amir has criticised the party’s policies in public, he should be penalised.
In March, when the PML-N eventually supported a government bill for the Defence Housing Authority in Islamabad, Mr Amir spoke against it, which Mr Khan didn’t like.According to the source, Mr Khan wanted all ticket holders of the party in Rawalpindi division to be of his liking.Mr Amir first contested and won the 1997 elections on PML-N ticket for a Punjab Assembly seat from his district, but resigned his seat after developing differences with party leaders.In 2002, when the entire Chakwal district fell to the PML-Q, Mr Amir lost to the same Maj Iqbal who was a PML-Q candidate, by only 3,000 votes. – Dawn
