ISLAMABAD, Feb 22: Follow-ing the withdrawal of police contingents from the PML-Q secretariat (PML House) after the Feb 18 polls, the party leadership is reported to have decided to employ security by a 200-strong private security force, called the Wajahat Force.

The Wajahat Force is maintained by Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain, MNA-elect and younger brother of PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.

The sprawling PML House gives a deserted look these days with no party official turning up following the party’s defeat in polls. A senior PML-N leader and a former secretary general of the party, who had signed the purchase deed of the PML House, told Dawn that the issue of regaining control of the place had not come up for discussion and it might be raised after the new government takes over.

PML-N secretary information and MNA-elect Ahsan Iqbal said: “No measure can stop the rightful owner from regaining control of the PML House.”

When asked when would that happen, he said: “When the judiciary will become independent. They (the PML-Q) will themselves hand it over to the legal owners.”

The building had been purchased by former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif and it was registered in the name of Sartaj Aziz, then secretary general of the party.

Mr Iqbal said the control of the PML House was taken over by the pro-Musharraf League in 2000 by using administrative force as well as intelligence agencies.

Opinion

Editorial

Weathering the storm
Updated 29 Apr, 2024

Weathering the storm

Let 2024 be the year when we all proactively ensure that our communities are safeguarded and that the future is secure against the inevitable next storm.
Afghan repatriation
29 Apr, 2024

Afghan repatriation

COMPARED to the roughshod manner in which the caretaker set-up dealt with the issue, the elected government seems a...
Trying harder
29 Apr, 2024

Trying harder

IT is a relief that Pakistan managed to salvage some pride. Pakistan had taken the lead, then fell behind before...
Return to the helm
Updated 28 Apr, 2024

Return to the helm

With Nawaz Sharif as PML-N president, will we see more grievances being aired?
Unvaxxed & vulnerable
Updated 28 Apr, 2024

Unvaxxed & vulnerable

Even deadly mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue and malaria have vaccines, but they are virtually unheard of in Pakistan.
Gaza’s hell
Updated 28 Apr, 2024

Gaza’s hell

Perhaps Western ‘statesmen’ may moderate their policies if a significant percentage of voters punish them at the ballot box.