BAHAWALPUR: Two Pakistan Tehreenk-i-Insaf (PTI) candidates fighting for the Bahawalpur urban area national and provincial seats were reconciled on Tuesday with each other through negotiations sponsored by a party leader.

PTI candidate for NA-170 Farooq Azam Malik and PP-246 Samiullah Chaudhry had not been at speaking terms for years as both remained in different parties. PTI South Punjab President Farzand Ali Goheer told Dawn he played a role to bring both candidates close to and shake hands with each other. He said talks were held at Mr Malik’s residence. He said the differences between the two candidates were of petty nature.

Mr Malik is huge influence in the Seraiki speaking community and has been associated with the PPP and later Nawab Salauddin Abbasi before moving to the PTI. Mr Chaudhry is a Punjabi-speaking leader from the Araen clan. He has been the Punjab PML-N vice-president and remained the Saaf Pani Company chairman, in addition to being Bahawalpur Waste Management Company director during the Shahbaz Sharif rule.

Both Mr Malik and Mr Chaudhry were contenders for PTI ticket for NA-170. As the PTI tickets were awarded to them after the passage of the dates of filing of nomination papers, Mr Malik submitted an application against Mr Chaudhry for his role in the Saaf Pani Company in Bahawalpur.

This created a gulf of differences between them. Although, both leaders met each other at a gathering at the residence of Tahseen Nawaz Gardezi in the presence of PTI ticket holders, Mr Goheer felt that they were not clear with each other and arranged another reconciliatory meeting between them.

In NA-170, Mr Malik will face PML-N’s Baleeghur Rehman, MMA’s Dr Syed Waseem Akhtar and PPP’s Syed Irfan Gardezi. Mr Chaudhry will face in PP-246 PML-N’s Dr Rana Muhammad Tariq, MMA’s Shafqatur Rehman and PPP’s Shakir Ali Mirza.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2018