Daily Times

The 12-year-old son of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Qamarul Islam Raja kicked off his father’s election campaign on Wednesday.

The 12-year-old began the campaign two days after his father was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Lahore in connection with Punjab Saaf Pani Company corruption case.

Islam, who is PML-N’s ticket holder from NA-59 Rawalpindi-III and is contesting against former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar, is accused of having awarded contracts for 84 water treatment plants at a higher price.

Addressing constituents today, the 12-year-old said, “I have been asked by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz to start our election campaign. They have asked me to focus on the campaign despite hurdles.”

Expressing hope that his father will win, he said, “NA-59 is the stronghold of PML-N.”

Responding to a question, the 12-year-old said, “I don’t have any message for Chaudhry Nisar. In mine and my father’s eyes, electoral candidates are held between party candidates and independent candidates have no value.”

Islam’s arrest came a day after the PML-N fielded him against disgruntled PML-N leader Nisar in the NA-59 constituency.

Responding to a question about Islam’s arrest, former premier Nawaz Sharif said in London that he was upset when he learned of the arrest.

On the other hand, Nisar also said that the NAB action was condemnable.

The former interior minister said that this could make the July 25 general election controversial.

Similarly, PML-N spokesperson and former information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb termed the NAB action pre-poll rigging and said the party would approach the Election Commission of Pakistan in this regard. Further, Islam’s daughter, Uswa Islam, said that her father was an honest man, alleging that the purpose of Islam’s arrest was to “sabotage his election campaign.”

She said that another purpose of her father’s arrest was to affect the popularity of the PML-N. Uswa said that her father was present at NAB Lahore’s office following a letter written to him pertaining to an inquiry by the anti-graft body.

“My father is a diabetic and he is not being allowed administration of injections,” she alleged.

Published in Daily Times, June 28^th 2018.