ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) central leader MNA Hamza Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday asked the local party leaders to extend full support to the party's candidate Ch. Ashraf Gujjar for NA-48 Islamabad by bye-elections.
To make the election campaign of Ch. Ashraf Gujjar effective, Hamza also announced restoration of local chapters of the party and directed all the party leaders and activists of the Federal Capital to put in their best to return the party candidate victorious with a thumping majority.
Sources in the party informed The Nation that he party leadership was perturbed over the revolt-like situation in the party against awarding of party ticket to what they termed an outsider and over the past couple of days Hamza Shahbaz Sharif had held series of meetings with the party leaders and notables in NA-48 to assess the gravity of the situation.
The sources further said that Hamza Shahbaz expressed his displeasure over the opposition of party's ticket holder from within the party and directed the senior party leaders and Parliamentarians from Federal Capital to use their influence in settling the inner rifts in the party.
On the advice of senior party leaders from Federal Capital, Hamza had announced restoration of all the local chapters of the party to appease the party workers and activists and in return to get their active support for the party candidate in the upcoming by-polls.
On the other hand, the former MNA from the area Anjum Aqeel Khan was not ready to give up his stake on the party's ticket and had filed an appeal against his ouster from the race with Election Commission of Pakistan and the commission would likely come up with some decision on his plea on August 12.
Whatever would be the outcome of Anjum Aqeel's appeal by that time a Domicile's Sword would keep hanging on the head of Ch. Ashraf Gujjar and the PML-N voters and supporters would also remain in the state of indecision which way to go, as majority of the PML-N supporters and voters in this constituency, especially in the rural areas falling in its jurisdiction, are supporters of Anjum Aqeel and they would prefer him on any other candidate.