NA-123

Mian Nawaz Sharif has decided not to contest NA-123 by polls next month and instead nominated Pervez Malik as the MLN  candidate for what is believed to be his taken for  granted seat in Lahore. Parvez Malik has been  chosen ostensibly  for his being a sincere party worker who stood by the Sharifs through thick and thin.  However, intriguingly his one brother Malik Qayyum the former attorney general was an ardent aide of president Pervez Musharraf - a sworn enemy of MNS, and his other sister – Yasmeen Rehman – is a twice elected MNA from the Pakistan People’s Party - the arch rivals of the PML-N. Why is MNS himself not contesting the polls, everyone is looking askance? Is it some lurking fear of losing the contest? An ego problem of being in the parliament and not the leader of the house and the PM of the country? Or, most importantly the self-signed and undertake n 10 year ban on taking part in politics. The last reason is strengthened further by the fact that MNS soon relinquished the PML-N command in favour of his brother and thus – legally speaking - became a non-entity within the party. Whatever the reason it is certainly a sad scheme of affairs for our national politics where every thing just revolves around the glory and gain of a personality with no consideration for the national cause. He should have been in the assembly to play his effective role as the Leader of Opposition for ensuring Good Governance.

Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)

30, Westridge-1

Rawalpindi 46000