MUZAFFARGARH, July 25: Pakistan Muslim League (PML) leaders have stepped up their efforts to oust Pakistan People’s Party-backed district nazim Sardar Qayyum Jatoi from the office, Dawn has learnt.

PML leaders will meet the chief minister in Lahore on Thursday (today) to decide about party’s candidate for the top district slot in case their planned no-confidence move is successful, according to PML union council nazim Allah Dad Khar. Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) Sardar Allah Wasaya Chunnu Leghari also confirmed that a consensus candidate would be decided by the chief minister. The no-trust move would be moved in the first week of August, said Me Khar.

The PML has been trying to remove Mr Jatoi for the last three years but the PPP’s only district nazim in the Punjab somehow has frustrated their moves.

Sources told Dawn on Wednesday the chief minister had given a green signal to the PML to bring the no-confidence move.

Mr Jatoi defeated PML’s Tehmina Dasti in 2005 elections for district nazim taking advantage of infighting among the PML ranks. The reality can be gauged from the facts that in all tehsils of the district, the PML won tehsil nazims’ slots but lost the district slot. Ms Dasti, MNA and daughter of MPA Sardar Amjad Hameed Dasti, lost the election as a former district nazim Sultan Hinjra with some MPAs had opposed her nomination.

In 2005 and 2006, the PML planned to bring a no-confidence move against Mr Jatoi many times but failed. On the July 19 budget session, the PML showed its majority and 86 union council nazims, out of the total of 144, were in the government camp. According to insiders, tehsil nazims had played an important role in managing more nazims for the government camp.

Earlier, the chief minister had tasked MNAs and MPAs with securing the majority for the no-trust move, but they failed or did not take any interest to accomplish the mission. The government changed the policy and asked tehsil nazims of Kotaddu, Alipur, Jatoi and Muzaffargarh to arrange majority for no-confidence.

At the July 19 session, Kotaddu tehsil nazim Malik Rafiq Khar and Muzaffargarh tehsil nazim Sardar Abad Dogar were seen bringing nazims to the session. Besides them, a new entrant to the PML fold, Nawabzada Israr Khan, was also active on the occasion which created worries for some intending candidates for the top district slot.

Even though the government has gained the majority in the house, but it has many candidates for the slot. At the July 19 session, PML bigwigs like Malik Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar, Ghulam Abbas Qureshi, Amjad Hameed Dasti and Abdullah Shah were absent. Nawab Israr can also give surprise to old guns because of his close relations with the chief minister.

Insiders say the PML camp is visibly divided into three groups: Dasti group, Hanjra group and Khar-Qureshi groups and every group wants its candidate nominated for the district nazim.

The today meeting is very important and let’s see if the chief minister can influence the PML leadership to reach a consensual candidate.

The PPP camp seemed unmoved by the efforts of the PML to bring the no-confidence move against Mr Jatoi. Mr Jatoi is planning to leave for London to meet PPP chairperson Benzair Bhutto to discuss party tickets for the next polls.