Bad advice cost Shaukat Aziz dearly

* Aziz-friendly legislators also denied tickets by the PML

By Irfan Ghauri

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Shaukat Aziz failed to secure a party ticket from the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) for the upcoming elections because of in-house wrangling with PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.

Notwithstanding the statements by both sides claiming that Aziz himself chose not to apply for a PML ticket and to stay away from elections, sources in the party said that the former premier, who was also a member of the 25-strong PML parliamentary board, had tried to secure a ticket for himself and a few close aides till the last minute.

The efforts proved futile not only for Aziz, but also for those who had sided with him when he was in power and had tried to sideline the Chaudhrys to make their own circle of ‘friends’ in politics.

The Chaudhrys waited for the right moment and finally succeeded in getting rid of Aziz and company ahead of the elections by denying them party tickets, the sources said. Shaukat Aziz had also invested heavily in Islamabad as a future constituency and had approved a hefty development package of Rs 8.3 billion to be monitored by one of his friends. The friend, now a caretaker minister, was tasked with gathering support for Aziz and himself in preparation for the elections, the sources said.

Aziz and the minister in question became close friends when the former was finance minister and the latter was president of the National Poultry Association. The minister was unknown in political circles till Aziz appointed him chief coordinator for his campaign for the NA-59 (Attock) by-election in 2004, a slot vacated by Eman Wasim, niece of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, after she was elected.

The silent tug-of-war between the Chaudhrys and Aziz began when several apolitical friends advised Aziz to nurture his own constituency rather than relying on the Chaudhry’s patronage. The ill advice cost Aziz dearly.

Aziz-friendly legislators: Subsequently, most of the former PML legislators who had developed differences with the Chaudhrys during the district government elections or on other issues – and were considered quite close to Aziz – were denied tickets by the PML.

Former state environment minister Malik Amin Aslam was the only such legislator allowed a party ticket. Sources said Hina Rabbani Khar, Zahid Hamid, Chaudhry Ijaz and Farooq Amjad Mir were among those denied PML
tickets because of closeness with Shaukat Aziz.

Shaukat Aziz inducted Malik Amin Aslam in the cabinet despite the latter’s rivalry with Major (r) Tahir Sadiq, Eman Wasim’s father. Amin is the son-in-law of Ahmed Saeed, whose brother Ahmed Mukhtar is an archrival of the Chaudhrys.

Aziz gave a tough time to the Chaudhrys on other fronts as well. He refused to give a free hand to Amanullah Jadoon, a relative of the Chaudhrys, who was appointed minister of the lucrative Petroleum Ministry. Aziz appointed close aide Ahmed Waqar petroleum secretary to keep a check on Jadoon.
Sources said Shaukat was more interested in a ticket outside Punjab in a remote constituency such as Tharparkar to avoid defeat, but failed to get his wish because of opposition by the Chaudhrys.