Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi (SMQ) the evergreen Vice Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has complained that his own party conspired against him in the 2018 provincial assembly elections. This is an interesting accusation coming from him. Historically speaking PTI remained clean of all foul play till the Lahore Jalsa of October 30, 2011 before the pandemic of electables hit the movement for change.
Till that time Comrade Ahsan Rashid President Punjab and one of the six founding members was the Chou-En-Lai of the party and a clear second after the Chairman. Ever since Nawaz Sharif as Chief Minister (CM) was able to corner the then Prime Minster (PM), the position has become critical.
Read more: NAB laws amended to protect “corrupt elite class”, Shah Mehmood Qureshi
After the 18th amendment the CM’s have now become omnipotent
After 56 days the party had a power show at Mazar-e-Quaid on December 25, 2011, by that time new funny faces were seen sitting on the mainstage next to Imran Khan ( IK ). There was a tussle to sit next to IK. The trio from Multan (SMQ, Javed Hashmi, Jehangir Tareen) were most active followed by the duo from Kasur (Khurshid Kasuri, Sardar Asif ). Till that time Ahsan Sb was calling the shots, he had arranged a lavish dinner at a five star hotel which proved to be the ‘Last Supper’ for the party ideologues.
The battle for control of the party had started. Ahsan Sb was the first target in 2013 elections as he was next in line to become the CM Punjab. First a conspiracy was hatched within the party by the new comers to de-seat him from the position of President Punjab in the Inter Party Elections (IPE). Votes were purchased to keep the old guard out. The Multan Trio was in as Vice Chairman, Party President and Secretary General (With their support). Once in the saddle the struggle to control the party started. Everyone was eyeing for the coveted position of CM Punjab. After the 2014 Dharna, Javed Hashmi was expelled by the Chairman now it was the ‘Multan Duo’ at work. PTI had been a party of change under able and honest leadership but with the entry of these’
Ambitious Electables the purity of the party was seriously dented
Ahsan Sb passed away before the 2018 elections, and his glorious innings came to an end. He had served his party with honesty and dedication. Till the last moment it was not sure whether IK would come for his final rites but he did. In line with the ‘Comrade Traditions’, and with the permission of his family, I draped his Janaza with the party flag as a final tribute for his services to the party and the change he desired for his motherland.
Read more: Shah Mehmood Qureshi trolls Hina Rabbani Khar
Now the ‘Multan Duo’ was all over. They even surrounded the Chairman. While the old guard were sidelined, some of the new comers like the Leghari Brothers and Sardar Asif left the party as they too were marginalized. Now it turned into a Multan versus Multan duel for the coveted slot of CM Punjab. It may have been a ‘Multan Conspiracy’ to keep him out but certainly it was not PTI which even till today remains a relatively clean political entity. Luck favored SMQ as Tareen was disqualified by the Supreme Court of Pakistan leaving political the field open for him.
Tareen despite his ouster from politics continued to control the party affairs till he was shown the door after the ‘Sugar Scandal ‘Comrade Naeem-ul-Haq another founder member of the party remained close to IK till the end. Despite his battle with cancer, he provided an important link between the party rank and file and the leader which the ‘Multan Duo’ had monopolized. After his passing away, a tussle started between the bureaucracy led by the Principal Secretary and Tareen for the control of the PM Secretariat.
As always, the bureaucrats have the final laugh as they control the files and the paperwork. Rest as they say is history, members of the Tareen and Aleem Group have now lost their seats and are contesting by-elections on PML-N tickets while SMQ has fielded his son for the same seat that he lost in 2018. In his own words “I did not suffer, as I became the Foreign Minister, you were made to suffer by my defeat”. He urged the voters to wake-up, I wish they are also able to break the spell of ‘Spiritual Monopolization’ which has dominated the politics of Multan for centuries.
SMQ’s outburst against his own party should be taken seriously
If the Vice Chairman feels cheated, how about the rank and file of the party? All is not well since December 25, 2011. Even the father of the nation complained about the ‘Counterfeit Coins’ in his pocket. It is widely believed that would goes around comes around. Conspiracies take place when merit and transparency are missing.
Read more: Shah Mehmood Qureshi asks Ahsan Iqbal to get out!
Openness is the most important ingredient of democracy which has been missing in the movement since the entry of ‘Electable’. PTI has to be revived to start the crusade of change from where it was jacked by the traditional old players of status-quo and vested self-interests. Like Jinnah, IK too believes in merit but the ‘Counterfeit’s’ come in the way through conspiracies of all kinds. Most of them have been shown the door while a few still remain, it is indeed curtain time for them as the script has been changed from ‘Ghulami to Azadi’. The march for freedom has started in which the slaves have no role to play.
The writer is Ex-Chairman Pakistan Science Foundation. He can be reached at fmaliks@hotmail.com. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space.