Pakistan People's Party leaders Malik Ahmed Hussain Dehar, Divisional President, Khalif Hanif Lodhi District President, Malik Liaquat Ali Dogar, MNA, Begum Nasim Chaudhry MNA, Khurshid Ahmed Khan.
M. Salim Raja, Khawaja Rizwan Alam, Begum Saeed Jamal Labar, Malik Nasim Labar, Dr Akhtar Malik have welcomed the decision of Benazir Bhutto to appoint Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi as Provincial President of PPP describing it a good decision.
They said that Party had already reposed its confidence on Shah Mehmood Qureshi when he was nominated as a candidate for prime ministership. They said that in order to activate the party ahead of the coming polls, and to infuse new blood into the party PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto has changed the party's Punjab leadership, by appointing Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a politician from Multan, as party's Punjab President, replacing Qasim Zia, who has been made member of the party's central executive committee.
Likewise, Ghulam Abbas has been elevated to the office of general secretary. He has replaced Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan who has also been made member of party's CEC.
Both Qasim Zia and Rana Aftab would retain their offices in Punjab Assembly as leader of the Opposition and Deputy leader of Opposition respectively. Shah Mahmood Qureshi is holding a press conference here on Saturday to spell out his priorities after assuming the new office.
Before their new assignments, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Ghulam Abbas were holding the portfolios Central Deputy Secretary General and senior vice-president Punjab respectively. Shah Mahmood is 12th Punjab president of the PPP.
The change in party's Punjab leadership was long due, but the decision was kept pending for almost a year due to various experiences. It was decided some two years back that offices of leader of opposition and president in the provinces must be held by two different persons.
The decision was implemented in Sindh, as the office of president was taken away from Nisar Khoro who was asked to remain content with the officer opposition leader. But the decision was not implemented in Punjab despite several moves within the party to dislodge Qasim Zia from party's Punjab presidentship.
Senior party leaders including Jehangir Badr, Khalid Kharral, Mushtaq Awan, and lately Yousaf Raza Gilani were behind the move to replace Qasim Zia with Shah Mahmood Qureshi or some other party man.
This is for the first time that Shah Mahmood Qureshi has been assigned leadership role in Punjab Province. Qureshi joined PPP in 1993, and was elected MNA for the first time the same year on PPP ticket. He lost to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's candidate Javed Hashmi in 1997 elections, while contesting from Multan, but was elected MNA for the second time in 2002 general elections.
Qureshi, who belongs to an influential political family of Multan, and is son of late Sajjad Hussain Qureshi, the former Punjab Governor, made his debut in politics in 1983, and was elected chairman district council Multan defeating his rival Gilani group then led by Hamid Raza Gilani. He was elected MPA in 1985. Later, Qureshi served as Minister for P&D during 1988 and 1990 in Nawaz Sharif's cabinet. From 1990 to 1992, he held the portfolio of Punjab Minister for Finance in late Wyne's cabinet.
Shah Mahmood joined PPP in 1993 after being refused ticket by PML (N), which at that time preferred Javed Hashmi over him. He, however, proved his worth and defeated his rival Hashmi in 1993 general elections. He lost MNA election in 1997, but was elected in 2002 elections.
Earlier, in 2001, he was elected as district Nazim Multan. He earned the distinction of being the only politician in Pakistan who resigned as district Nazim to contest general election in 2002. Ghulam Abbas previously served as district president Sialkot, and later as Punjab Minister for Anti-Corruption during second tenure of the PPP.
Before Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Sheikh Muhammad Rashid (1968-1972), Mian Muhammad Afzal Wattoo (1972-1974), Malik Miraj Khalid (1974-1977), Sheikh Rafique Ahmad (1977-1985), Jehangir Badr (1985-1988), Rana Shaukat Mahmood (1988-1989), Fakhar Zaman (1989-1991), Jehamgir Badr (1991-1995), Mushtaq Awan (1995-1997), Rao Sikinder (1997-2001) and lately Qasim Zia (2001-2006) have served as party's Punjab presidents during different periods.
Similarly, Mustafa Khar (1968-1972), Syed Nasir Ali Rizvi (1972-1974), Khalid Malik (1974-1977), Rana Shaukat Mahmood (1977-1978), Mukhtar Ahmad Kahloon, Ahmad Saeed Awan (1988-1995), Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Amanullah Khan (1995), Pir Shujaat Hasnain Qureshi (1996-1997), Professor Ejazul Hassan (1997-2001) and Rana Aftab (2001-2006) have served as general secretary Punjab before appointment of Chaudhry Ghulam, Abbas to the said office.