PESHAWAR: Despite being refused party ticket for the fourth time by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) for contesting an election, the young PTI leader Mohammad Younas Zaheer saved his party from a possible defeat by declining an offer of support by 45 district council members against the party candidate Arbab Mohammad Asim. The PTI office-bearers told The News that 45 members of the district council had approached Younas Zaheer when the party chose Arbab Asim to contest for the district nazim Peshawar and assured him of their full support if he wanted to challenge the party candidate in the polls. “Some of the party members got furious when Younas Zaheer declined to challenge the party decision of awarding the ticket to Arbab Asim,” a PTI member in Peshawar pleading anonymity told The News. He said the PTI leadership knew about these developments and got worried about Arbab Asim’s fate. “Those who knew Younas Zaheer assured the party leadership that he would not go against the party decision,” the PTI leader said. He said PTI Chairman Imran Khan had to call Younas Zaheer when differences surfaced among party councillors on the polling day. According to PTI sources, Younas Zaheer was offered the slot of district naib nazim, but he refused to accept it. The PTI provincial acting president, Fazal Khan had said that dual nationality of Younas Zaheer deprived him of the district nazim’s position. Younas Zaheer is a law graduate from London and is a licenced UK law practitioner. He returned to Pakistan in 2008 and reportedly began the process to give up his British citizenship in 2010. He was elected as general secretary of the party in 2013 by defeating Ziaullah Afridi, who later became an MPA and minister and is now in jail on corruption charges, by 166 votes. According to PTI sources, there is widespread feeling within the party circles that they should have supported Younas Zaheer this time. “This was the fourth time the party refused him the party ticket. During the 2013 general election, he was refused ticket for PK-2 in Peshawar. Then he applied for party ticket when Imran Khan quit the NA-1 Peshawar seat, but the ticket was given to little known PTI worker Gul Badshah, who lost to Awami National Party’s Ghulam Ahmad Bilour. He also couldn’t get PTI ticket for Senate polls. This time he wasn’t given party ticket to contest for district nazim,” a PTI MPA told The News. Pleading anonymity, he said majority of the 10 PTI MPAs from Peshawar had initially announced to support Younas Zaheer for the district nazim, but he lost out in the end to Arbab Asim. “Since he was in good books of Imran Khan and most MPAs were supporting him, we were sure he would become the district nazim. But some people in the party played a game and changed the mind of the party leadership,” the MPA said. When reached by phone, Younas Zaheer said it was vision and leadership of Imran Khan that prompted him to leave the United Kingdom and settle in Pakistan. “My struggle is not for power. I am bound to obey whatever the party decides. Imran Khan is my leader and I will accept whatever decision he makes,” Younas Zaheer said. He confirmed reports that other political parties, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Jamaat-e-Islami and Awami National Party had approached him after reports emerged of his differences with PTI. “Let me assure you that I am with PTI and will remain in this party till my death. I spent 15 years in UK and I didn’t come here for portfolios. Like my leader, I have the mission to serve my people,” he stressed. He confirmed that PTI district council members had tried to persuade him to contest for district nazim against the party candidate. “Arbab Asim is my brother and I will sincerely support him,” he said.
