Musharraf out against Chaudhrys to stage comeback Ex-president wants to become PML-Q chief after bar on him ends on Nov 28; Humayun to go for general secretary office.

Battle group meeting in UAE next week

LAHORE: Former president Parvez Musharraf has rolled the dice again to muster support for himself and his group in the upcoming PML-Q polls on July 20 at the central level.

Throwing a direct challenge to the Chaudhrys, the former president has already aligned some big names, in as well as outside the legislature, to his side. Sources in the party revealed Musharraf had engaged his campaign for assuming the top party office in overdrive, activating his support-base in the PML-Q to oppose the re-election of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. It is his second move for dislodging the Chaudhrys from the top.

It is further learnt the former president has evolved a plan likely to be finalised in an informal meeting of stalwarts in Abu Dhabi at the wedding of Saddruddin Hashwani’s son next week. Musharraf and some of his staunch supporters will attend this ceremony.

The Musharraf camp comprises Hamid Nasir Chattha, Humayun Akhtar Khan, Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri, Sumera Malik, Kashmala Tariq and Riaz Fatiana. The legislators, who are close to these people, are also expected to jump on the bandwagon.

The latest war of words between the Chaudhry and Musharraf camps is the fallout of an alleged pre-emptive strike by the former, managing early schedule for party polls to leave the opponents with less time to do the desired damage.

The Musharraf camp will not only contest against Ch Shujaat Hussain, it will also try to seek inception of fresh general council as the term of previous nears end.

The Chaudhry camp says the process has already been completed and the new general council is in place for conducting the fresh polls. The pro-Musharraf people have serious apprehensions vis-a-vis the new general council. This group has been meeting regularly this week in Lahore. Among the participants were Humayun Akhtar Khan, Ejazul Haq, Lala Nisar, Maqbool Sheikh, Rana Asif, Azeem Chaudhry and Kashmala Tariq. They remained in touch with former Sindh CM Arbab Rahim and former Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri.

Apart from political wheeling dealing, the pro-Musharraf activists are also trying to generate funds for expediting the change. It is learnt the business community is being reached for raising some Rs 80 million for the purpose.

Sources in the party say a close aide of the former president is handling the political affairs of this campaign, while Azeem Chaudhry is looking after the media. The latter will spur into action once the move is made public. Interestingly, former information minister Mohammad Ali Durrani is out of this loop. He is staying neutral for the time being.

Under the plan, Hamid Nasir Chattha will be fielded against Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain with Humayun Akhtar Khan as general secretary. Chattha will be playing fall guy for Musharraf, who is barred from becoming a member of any political party till November 28 this year.

Under the Political Parties Act, the former president cannot become a member of any political party if he is disqualified under Article 63-1(k) of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, both the groups have warmed the fronts with barrages of allegations and counter allegations. Former commerce minister Humayun Akhtar Khan has criticised the Chaudhrys for unnecessarily involving the former president in this mess. “It’s a spanner by the Chaudhrys. The former president has no role in the current crisis within the party. These are baseless allegations. We are a group of people, which shares the same perception the Chaudhrys have already got enough.”

He went to say that the Chaudhrys had received billions from Musharraf for furthering their political career in the past, and thus had no right to level such allegations against him. “Money and Musharraf are two charges they use for political gimmicks to detract their opponents. They have managed these new councils in a week, handpicking their guards and drivers in it. We don’t accept the validity of this council, and want fresh elections under a neutral body. How could they complete such a complicated process of holding elections right from the union council level to the top in just one week?”

He, however, did not rule out the possibility of Hamid Nasir Chattha taking part in the party elections.

The Chaudhrys’ family sources rebutted the allegations levelled by Humayun Akhtar Khan, saying the family had never received any money from Musharraf for any personal agenda.

Moreover, they said it was an attempt by a bunch of people in the party to pit the Chaudhrys against Musharraf for materialising their nefarious designs. They said they had never uttered a word against the former president.

Meanwhile, PML Secretary General Mushahid Hussain also refuted the allegations of maneuvering in the general council. He said it was the same general council, which elected Ch Shujaat Hussain in 2006. He maintained Humayun Akhtar Khan had cast his vote in 2006, and it was incomprehensible why had he been objecting to the credibility of the same council now.

Agencies add: Serious differences cropped up within the PML-Q ranks on Saturday as both the sides ñ the Chaudhrys camp and the dissident group — resorted to trade allegations against each other in front of the public.

The situation went from bad to worse on Saturday with the announcement of the dissident group to resist the re-election of PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain for a successive third term. The group also hinted at making Senator Salim Saifullah Khan as the party president, Hamid Nasir Chattha as its chairman and Humayun Akhtar Khan as secretary general.

The group members assembled at the residence of former federal minister Humayun Akhtar Khan in Lahore to discuss the recent situation developing with the intent of the Chaudhrys’ camp to get the party president and general secretary re-elected in July.

After the meeting, the dissidents blasted the party leadership, alleging that they had failed to keep the party intact and run it in a democratic manner.

In an exclusive talk with the APP, Salim Saifullah Khan said that the wrong policies adopted by the Chaudhrys had led the party to defeat in the last general elections. “Despite being in power for five long years, the Chaudhrys could not get the party win the polls,” he added.

Besides, Humayun Akhtar Khan told a press conference in Lahore that the party constitution did not allow Chaudhry Shujaat to contest the party polls for a third term. “We would not let the party become a family affair of the Chaudhrys. We would also not accept the General Council of the party. We are in consultation with the party leaders, including Aijaz-ul-Haq and Arbab Ghulam Rahim,” he added.

Responding to a question, Humayun brushed aside the impression that his group wanted to replace Shujaat with former president Parvez Musharraf. “Musharraf had better ties with the Chaudhrys rather than us,” he remarked.

PML-Qís Sindh chapter President Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim said he had consulted the party leadership to conduct polls at the grassroots level.

“Despite the public announcement of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain that he would not contest polls for the third term, he is going to do so. Moreover, the appointment of provincial chief election commissioner has nothing to do with the central leadership and rather it is the job of the provincial council,” he added.

Well-placed sources told Online that the dissident group held it’s meeting under Senator Salim Saifullah and Hamid Nasir Chattha in Lahore. Those who attended the meeting were Ejazul Haq, Humayun Akhtar Khan, Lala Nisar Afzal Khan, Maqbool Sheikh, Arbab Ghulam Rahim, Kashmala Tariq, Sumera Malik and others.

The party leadership said the PML-Q general council had no legal standing.