Local council elections: Opposition, PML dissidents plan to defeat Mian Amer

By Qamar Jabbar

LAHORE: The joint opposition and dissident groups of the Pakistan Muslim League have chalked out a ‘secret diplomacy’ to defeat Mian Amer Mehmood, the regime-backed candidate for Lahore district nazim.

PML-Nawaz sources told Daily Times on Saturday that the joint opposition voters would support dissident groups’ candidates for town and district councils members while the dissident groups’ members would vote for Rana Mashood Ahmad Khan for Lahore district nazim.

Malik Pervaiz and Khawaja Ahmad Hassan of the PML-N, Samiullah Khan and Azizur Rehman Chann of Pakistan People’s Party, and Hafiz Salman Butt and Ameerul Azim of Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal are opposition’s main pillars.

“We will not disclose our strategy till October 6. The PML defeated Jamhoori group candidate Hafiz Salman Butt for Lahore district town nazim in the 2001 local council elections under a conspiracy,” said Pervaiz.

However, PML-N sources said that the combined opposition would take advantage of the differences in the PML ranks and negotiations with Mian Aslam Iqbal group in Samanabad Town, Rasheed Bhatti group in Allama Iqbal Town, Kamil Umar group in Nishtar Town and Rohail Asghar group in Shalimar Town were under way.

“We have no threat in Data Ganj Buksh, Wagah and Aziz Bhatti towns. Opposition candidates for town nazim and naib nazim would succeed in seven out of nine towns if the dissident groups fully support us,” Pervaiz said. Rana Mashood Ahmad hoped that he would bag more votes than Mehmood. He said that he planned to hold open courts at town-level once a month if he was elected the Lahore district nazim.

“I will try my best to give honorarium to councillors of union councils (UCs) if I succeed. Monitoring teams will be set up at the UC level to monitor development works and propose new development schemes,” Ahmad said. He did not disclose the number of votes he had.

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